TWINS
by KatnissTheGirlOnFire19
Summary: Adrielle is the daughter of the mayor. She never suffered in life. She always had enough to eat. She almost always had no problems. Vala is the daughter of a former Hunger Games victor. Her dad died in the games. Everyone in her family had been chosen. But her. They are best friends. All this will change, now they are chosen...
1. Chapter 1 Adrielle's POV

**Chapter 1 –** **Adrielle's POV**

I woke up to the rays of the sun. I looked at my clock; it was only 7:30am. "Ugh." I went to the bathroom and started getting ready. Today was the 100th Hunger Games, it was a Quarter Quell. I couldn't wait on what type of Games this year would be. Every Quarter Quell was special. The gamemakers would make it more challenging than the regular games. At least that's what I was told. I wasn't around when the last one happened, since I'm only 16 years old.

I picked out a blue dress. The whole dress was sparkly. The top part was the color of sand. The bottom half was sea-blue. The color on the bottom half gradually started getting darker until the dress ended. Whenever I moved, the sparkles in bottom half would twinkle. This made the dress look like it had waves and would crash against the shore. (The "shore" would be the top part of my dress.) I got this dress especially for the Quarter Quell. I don't plan going into the games, but just in case, I wanted to look nice. I took out the matching blue flats my mother gave me.

I went downstairs to the kitchen. My mom and my sister were already down there. Up and very much ready. The Reaping didn't even start til' 12. I don't know why people in this house always got up so early. "Hey, mom. Adria. What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes, waffles, and bacon," my sister, Adria, answered. Adria was still 11, so she can't get Reaped this year. She had blond hair, brown eyes, and is ALWAYS nice to people. You barely catch her mad. She also always had a smile plastered on her face. The complete OPPOSITE of me.

I had dirty-blond hair, green eyes that changed to blue and gray, and I'm nice to people. MOST OF THE TIME. I don't have a smile plastered on my face, but I smile now and then. And I'm not short tempered, I can wait, but I'm not patient either. My dad was the Mayor, so I lived in the Mayor's house in District 4.

I grabbed a plate and loaded it up. "Do you know what today is, Adria?"

"It's the Quarter Quell! I don't want to see a new batch of people get tortured to death again. It happens EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR! It's so sad."

"Yeah. I know that, but this year it's special. Cuz is a Quarter Quell. It's going to be better than a regular year. Ya know, besides the death of people and stuff. And you're lucky you can't get reaped this year," I replied, cutting my pancake.

"Yeah. I guess, but I still don't like the games," Adria replied back.

"Alright girls, I'm going to work. I'll meet Adria here back home so I could take her to the Reaping okay, Adrielle?" My mom said. She worked with my dad, in the government.

"Okay." I replied.

"Bye mom!" Adria and I replied in unison.

Our mom kissed us on our foreheads and walked out the door.

"So, what are you doing today?" I asked Adria.

"Nothing. You?" Adria replied.

"Nothing either. You wanna go into town and spend some time together just in case I get reaped?" I replied back, joking.

"Sure. But you know you won't get reaped right?" She asked with a frown.

"Yeah. Probably. But you never know." I finished my breakfast, drank some juice, and went out the door with my sister following behind. After a couple of minutes of silence, a question in my mind lingered. I blurted it out. "What _are_ you going to do if I get Reaped this year Adria?" I asked her.

"Uhm. I don't know. I would probably cry. A LOT. But Adrielle?" Adria asked.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"If you do get reaped this year, promise me you would try to win, okay? Promise me that." She said holding out her pinky finger.

"Yes, I promise." I said taking her pinky and promising.

"Alright. Let's go to the bakery and get something." Adria said as she led me to the way.

_She would cry. A LOT. She would probably miss me too,_ I thought. _If I do get reaped this year, I'll try. I'll try to win. I promised Adria that, and promise myself that too._ She led me into the bakery, immediately filling my nose with wonderful scents.

"Hello. What do you want today Miss Adria?" The baker's son, Rye, asked. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and was muscular. Probably because of lifting 100 pounds of flour every now and then. He was probably my age too.

The baker was already familiar with Adria because she comes here almost every day.

"Uhm, can I have a chocolate crescent roll please? What about you Adrielle?" Adria asked.

"I'll just have a cheesy bun." I said to Rye.

"Ah, of course I should've known." Rye replied.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Oh. You know how Adria comes by here every day? And she gets cheesy buns. Well, one day she told me they were your favorite." Rye said, answering my question. "Here you go," handing me the bag that contained our bread.

"Thanks Rye!" Adria said enthusiastically.

"Hey, anytime kiddo. Bye Adrielle!" Rye said.

"Bye." I replied flashing him a smile before going out the door.

"Can I have my roll?" Asked Adria.

"Yeah, here. Wait I have to get my bun first." I replied taking the bun out and handing the bag to her.

"Thanks."

"Hey, I didn't notice your wearing the dress I got you for your birthday. It looks good."

"Thanks." She said, giving me a smile. "What time is it?" Adria asked.

"Uhm," I looked at my phone, "about 8:30. Why?" I replied.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering."

"Okay. Let's walk around town til' the Reaping starts." I said.

"Okay." Adria said walking around beside me.


	2. Chapter 2 Vala's POV

**Chapter 2 - ****Vala's POV**

"Come on Val, don't be scared!" My brother, Kenn, said soothingly, seeing me nervously twist my long, brown hair.

Easy for him to say. He's 19 and he won the Hunger Games last year. He's safe. His words don't help me though.

"Shut up!" I snap at Kenn. "It's the 100th anniversary of the Hunger Games! It's a Quarter Quell! Anything could happen! I'M NOT SAFE!"

"Woah, calm down!" he says. "It's not like you're going to be chosen!"

I roll my eyes at that. Yeah right. Everybody in my family has been chosen, except me. It doesn't help that my name, Vala, means "chosen". I'm pretty much doomed.

Seeing how annoyed I am, Kenn says, "Anyways, if you are chosen, it will be a big honor. And I know you can win."

I just glare at him to shut him up, and go back to twisting my hair, making it even curlier than it already is. We live in District 4, so we're careers. To us, it's supposed to be a big honor to be chosen. It really isn't. It's 9:00. 3 more hours until the reaping. I wonder what the Quarter Quell will be. Probably something sick. It always is. I wonder if I'll be chosen.

My mom walks into the room, breaking up my thoughts.

Seeing how worried I am, I see her tense up.

"Are you all right sweetie?" she asks.

I lie, and nod, to make her feel better. I see her relax. The Hunger Games hits her pretty hard. She won them when she was 18. My dad died in them when he was 18. Last year was probably one of the worst years of her life, when my brother was chosen. At least he survived. I wonder what will happen to my mom if I'm reaped.

My mom must be thinking the same things I am, because she suddenly barks at Kenn, "Go put on something nice you lazy slug!"

I laugh, and so does my mom. It's nice to see her happy. Once my brother leaves, she grabs me by the arm and leads me through our home.

Our Victor's Mansion is very fancy. All of the walls are blue and green, representing the ocean. Most of the furniture is made out of old boat parts. Shells and fishing poles decorate the walls. A few of the fancier rooms even have sandy floors.

We end up in my mom's room, and she begins to sort through her closet. She pulls out a beautiful sea green dress that matches my eyes perfectly. Even though there are a few shells sewed to the bottom of the dress, I'm not fooled. This is the dress that my dad gave my mom, the day he was reaped.

I know my mom doesn't want me to remember this, so I don't say anything. I step into the bathroom and slip it on. I look…beautiful. My whole life I've never been pretty. I've never been ugly either. I'm just your average, everyday girl. However, this dress makes me look amazing.

I step out of the bathroom and my mom gasps.

"Spin around!" she orders.

I spin around and the dress floats around my ankles. The rest of the dress flows like water, with ripples running up and down it, just like waves.

"I love it!" I whisper.

My mom says nothing and starts to pile my brown curls into a messy bun on top of my head. As I look into the mirror though, I see a few tears running down her face. I don't say anything, and allow her to put a shell incrusted headband on my head.

I look at the time, 11:30. Why does time have to go by so quickly on the day of the reaping? My mom spins me around to face her, and gives me a watery smile.

"Good luck," she whispered, "I love you."

With that she swats me on the butt, and I run out of the room giggling. My happiness wears off instantly once I head out the front door, and see the hundreds of people walking towards the Justice Building.

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	3. Chapter 3 Adrielle's POV The Reaping

**Chapter 3 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I left Adria with my mom at home and headed over to the Justice Building.

Someone stepped to my side, "You look nice," she said. _I think it was a she,_ I thought. I looked over.

"Oh, hey! You too," it was Vala. I flashed her a smile. _I hope I didn't look too nervous, I was thinking about if I get Reaped. I hope the odds were in my favor. _She was wearing asea-green dress. With cute, little, pink sea shells on the bottom. It was really pretty on her.

Vala had green eyes like me, but her's didn't change colors. She was muscular and looked very much athletic. She was always the one who exercised. And she was as tall as me. Her hair was naturally curly, was long, and brown, in the sun it glows a bit reddish. She was short tempered, but mostly nice. Most importantly, she was my twin.

"Thanks, let's go find a spot to stand." She said leading me to the front.

"Are you excited to find out what type of Quarter Quell it's going to be?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but I hope it's nothing too horrible." She replied back.

"Mmmmm. What are you going to do when you get Reaped?" I asked her.

"I'd go up onto the stage and pretend like I didn't care. Then I'd give the games my all." She said after a moment.

After that, the film started. It was the same film every year. The film showed the history of Panem. Our land used to me called the United States of America. But wars started, and the U.S. was destroyed. Then something came out of rubble, it was us, Panem. From then on, we had the Capitol and 13 Districts. But 100 years ago, the Districts rebelled. They got tired if getting controlled by the Capitol. The result was District 13 getting destroyed. The film reminded us why we have the Hunger Games: to stop society from crumbling again and to keep the population controlled. The film also showed us what would happen if the Districts rebelled again.

Hermia Sparks, the District 4 escort, walked onto the stage in her 10 inch heels. _It would have to be a miracle for me to walk in those,_ I thought. Looking at her, you could tell that she was obviously somebody from the Capitol. She was wearing one of those crazy fashion trends they always had. Her hair was styled into a bow and was a shade of bright pink, matching her shoes. The green eye shadow she was wearing looked horrible with her blue, sparkly skin. She was wearing a bright yellow dress, and her long pointy nails were a vivid shade of purple. She looked like she came from a circus.

"Hello everyone!" She said with that weird Capitol accent of hers. "This year we have a Quarter Quell! Isn't that exciting?" She said a little too enthusiastically. "This year we have…"

Very carefully, Hermia pulled opened up a sealed envelope with a Capitol seal on it.

She opened it and read it. _This is killing me Hemia, just say it out loud!_ "Wow. All LADIES! No, gentlemen. How bout' that twist, huh?" She said asking no one particularly.

"Well, let's get on with it!" She said mixing up the names in the glass ball.

She pulled out a name from the glass ball_. I only had 4 names in there. I didn't need tesserae unlike some other people from District 4. I always had plenty to eat. I didn't suffer in life. I ONLY had 4 names in there, I can't be picked. _I assured myself. Hermia said the name I out loud.

"ADRIELLE WATERS!"

Everyone stared at me. I only then realized that _I got picked. I WAS WRONG. I got picked, _I thought. I put on a brave smile, hugged Vala, and walked up the stage.

I could see everyone from here. Vala had a horror-stricken face and was staring at me. I gave her a reassuring smile. _It's okay_, I mouthed at her. Looking away, I continued smiling and looking into the crowd. I spotted my sister, she had silent tears flowing out of her eyes. So did my mom, I regretted that I didn't spend much time with my mom. She was mostly at work. I was also really glad I spent time with my sister this morning. I didn't know if I'm going out of the games alive. Adria's promise flashed into my mind…

"_If you do get Reaped this year, promise me you would try to win, okay? Promise me that." She said holding out her pinky finger._

"_Yes, I promise." I said taking her pinky and promising._

_I'll keep that promise Adria. I'LL TRY TO WIN,_ I thought.

Hermia announced the next tribute's name.

"VALA HEARST!"

_What? No! Not VALA! She was my twin! I'd have to kill her if I want to win! No_. I forced those thoughts out of my mind. _I'm not a killer._

She made her way up the stage, she had the same brave smile I probably had. I smiled at her back, but I was pretty sure that my eyes showed horror. She hugged me, I hugged her back.

I whispered something into her ear. "We'll try to win together. Alliances."

"Not just alliances. Twins." She whispered back.

"TWINS." I whispered back.

_I felt comfort that Vala was with me. But at the same time worry. Worried that she was with me. I was also scared. Scared because she might have to die because of me. _

I nudged Vala,_"Grab my hand!"_ I mouthed.

Together, we raised our hands high into the air.

"May I present to you, District 4's tributes for the Quarter Quell, _Adrielle Waters_ and _Vala Hearst_!" Hermia announced to everyone, District 4, to _Panem_. _"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odd be ever in your favour!"_

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	4. Chapter 4 Vala's POV The Reaping

**Chapter 4 - ****Vala POV**

I join the crowd of people walking towards the Justice building, and run ahead to catch up to my best friend, Adrielle. If there's anybody I don't want to be reaped, it's her.

"You look nice," I said to her, eyeing her blue sparkly dress. When she moved, the dress looked like waves crashing up against the shore. It fit her tall, athletic figure very well. Her dirty blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves, and her eyes changed color from gray, to green, to blue, in the sunlight. As she brushed a strand of hair off of her pink sparkly lips, I noticed that her nails matched her eyes.

"You too," she said with a nervous smile.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back at her, "let's go find a spot to stand."

We walked over to the front of the stage and stood with a group of 16 year old girls. On the stage were two big glass bowls, one with the boys names, one with the girls names, or so I assumed.

"Are you excited to find out what type of Quarter Quell it's going to be?" Adrielle asked me.

"Yeah, I hope it's nothing to horrible," I replied.

"What are you going to do if you get reaped?" Adrielle blurted out.

That makes me think.

"I'd go up onto the stage and pretend like I didn't care. It's better that way. Then I'd give the Games my all," I say after a moment.

We fell silent after that. I knew that we were both dreading who would be picked, and what the Quarter Quell would be. I also know that Adrielle is thankful that her sister, Adria, still isn't old enough to be reaped.

Everybody got quiet as the Capitol Seal appeared on a big screen behind the stage and the Anthem played. Then a video appeared. It was the same video that was shown year after year. The video showed the United States crumbling, the 13 Districts and the Capitol being built out of the rubble, and then District 13 being destroyed. The video also explained the reason we have the Hunger Games: to stop society from crumbling again. The Capitol Seal appeared on the screen again and the video was over.

Hermia Sparks, the District 4 escort, clicked onto the stage in her 10 inch heels. I have no clue how she could actually walk in those. She was obviously somebody from the Capitol, and she looked like a walking rainbow. Her shoes and hair (styled into a bow) were a matching shade of hot pink, the green eye shadow above her eyes clashed horribly with her blue sparkly skin, she was wearing a bright yellow dress, and her long pointy nails were a vivid shade of purple.

"Hello everyone!" she said in her thick Capitol accent. "This year we have a Quarter Quell! Isn't that exciting?" she said very enthusiastically. "This year we have…"

Giggling, Hermia opened up a sealed envelope.

"Wow! ALL LADIES! No gentlemen, how about that twist, huh?" She asked rhetorically.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the girl's side, and all of the boys relaxed. The chances of me or Adrielle being picked were even worse for this year. My name had been entered 4 times, not to mention that if my four slips were in BOTH glass bowls that would mean I've been entered 8 times. Luckily I didn't take any tesserae though. Not that I would need it, seeing as I lived in a Victor's Mansion.

"Well let's get on with it! Ladies first!" Hermia announced, the only one laughing at her joke.

Her hand plunged into the first glass bowl.

"Adrielle Waters!"

Everybody, including me, gasped and turned to stare at Adrielle. She looked stunned. Realizing her mistake, she plastered a brave smile onto her face, hugged me, and walked up onto the stage.

_It's okay,_ she mouthed to me. But it isn't okay. My whole world was falling apart; I couldn't believe my best friend was being sent off to her death. It just wasn't possible! Caught up in my distress, I didn't hear the next name was called. It wasn't until I noticed everybody staring at me that I realized it was me.

"Vala Hearst! Please come up to the stage!" Hermia said into the microphone impatiently.

Copying Adrielle, I put on a brave smile, and walked up onto the stage. I saw her fake smile frozen on her face as she stared at me. Her eyes were filled with horror.

As I arrived next to Adrielle, I hugged her.

As we were hugging, she whispered into my ear, "We'll try to win together, okay? Alliances."

"Not just alliances," I whispered back, "Twins."

"TWINS."Adrielle repeated.

In a week, we'd be in the arena, fighting other people to the death. Wanting to keep these thoughts at bay, and then stared out into the crowd. I found my mom and my brother. My mom was holding in her tears, and my brother looked mad.

It wasn't until Adrielle nudged me that I was brought back to the present.

"Grab my hand!" she said out of the side of her mouth.

We grabbed hands and raised them into the air.

"May I present to you, District 4's tributes for this year, Adrielle Waters and Vala Hearst!" Hermia said. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!"

If my whole world was falling apart earlier, now my whole universe had just collapsed.

Thanks for reading please review!


	5. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! This is my first story! I wrote it with my friend, ArianaWeasly . She's the one who's writing Vala's POVs. And I'm the one writing Adrielle's POVs. Follow us and the story! Were planning to finish the story, so don't worry!

**WE DON'T OWN THE HUNGER GAMES!** _Sadly…_

If we did, we wouldn't kill Finnick and Prim. Yea. Please review!


	6. Chapter 5 Adrielle's POV Visitors

**Chapter 5 –**** Adrielle's POV **

After that, two peacekeepers led us to our visiting rooms in the Justice Buildings. I waited for 5 minutes, but it seemed like an hour, for my first visitors to come in. I was my mom and Adria.

"You get 5 minutes." The peacekeeper, outside my door, said.

"Adrielle!" Adria said as she lunged at me with her arms wide open. "No! NO! You can't go! You said that you won't leave me! No! I won't let you go!" She said sobbing into my arms.

"_Ad_," I said soothingly. "I didn't leave you just yet. Remember our promise this morning? I'll keep that. I'll try to win for you."

"You promise?" Adria asked for the second time today.

"Yes. I promise very much. I promise." I said to her, repeating it over and over again. She hugged me tight and stayed there. I noticed my mom just sting there, crying.

"Hey, mom." I said.

"Honey! I am so sorry. I am so sorry!" She said as she hugged me.

We were in a group hug. My mom, Adria and I. For the first time I wondered why my dad wasn't here. I was being shipped off to the games and the least he could do is visit me. But I knew that he was probably at work or something. When she finally let go, I asked her a question.

"For what, mom?" I asked.

"That you go picked, of course! I _never_ imagined that you would get picked! You only had 4 names in there! 4, Adrielle! That was a very slim chance you had. But still, you got picked! You had such a good life before all of this!" My mom said, getting angrier and angrier.

"I know that mom. It wasn't my fault that I got picked. The odds weren't in my favor this year." I said hugging Adria tight. "Like I told Adria, I'm not leaving. I'm going to try to win."

"Aright. Show them you skills. I know you can win this. I love you hon." She said, trying to encourage me.

"Yes. I know. And I've been practicing. I have more than what they think mom." I said.

The peacekeepers came in, the short 5 minutes was over. They tired hauling Adria out, but they couldn't. She was stuck to me, she wouldn't let go.

"NO! Adrielle! NO!" Adria said trying to hang on to me.

"Adria, I'll see you again soon. Remember our promise. I'll keep that. If I die, be strong. If I'm suffering, I'm trying. Remember that. I love you." I said when she was finally pulled from me and was getting hauled out. My mother was already by the door.

"I love you guys! I'll try to win!" I yelled at them as the peacekeepers shut the door.

My next visitor surprised me, didn't even think he would come. It was my dad. He had dirty-blond hair, brown eyes, and was 6 ft tall. I got my hair from him, and my height.

"Hey dad, er, Mayor Waters." I said.

"Don't call me that-" My dad said.

"What? Dad?" I asked.

"No. Mayor Waters. You don't have to call me that when nobody's around." My dad said.

"Oh. Okay. So what's up?" I asked.

"What's up? You're being shipped off to the Games! And you're asking me, '_what's up?_'" My dad said getting angry.

"Sorry… But what are you doing here? I know to visit me. But, don't you have work?" I asked.

"Visiting you is more important than any other job there is." He said, whispering. "As much I want to tell everyone that right now, I can't, because I might get fired." He said chuckling. "Wouldn't want that, do you?" He said, asking me.

"No. I guess not. But okay. Are you here to give me my token too? Because mom didn't give me anything."

"Nope, I'm here just to visit you. There's someone else doing that." My dad replied.

"Oh. Who?" I asked.

"He will be your last visitor. Oh. I said it was a he. But, oh well. It's a he, alright?"

"Okay. I'll try to win for Adria." I said.

"Alright kiddo. I'll-" My dad said, getting cut off.

"Mr. Waters, your 5 minutes are up." The same peacekeeper said.

"Oh. Bye dad. See you soon. I'll try to win." I said.

"Bye kiddo, see you soon." He said walking out.

My next visitors were not at all surprising. I knew they would visit me. I didn't think they would give me my district token. So I knew there was probably one more visitor I had after them.

"Hi Mrs. Hearst, Kenn." I said giving them a small wave.

Mrs. Hearst was like my second mom. And Kenn was like my big brother. I knew them ever since Vala and I started being friends.

"Honey!" Mrs. Hearst said soothingly as she gathered me into a hug.

"Hi." I said, kind of whispering.

"Honey, I need to tell you something." She said all of a sudden, sounding alert.

"Okay."

"Val's dad…he won the games. He tricked the gamemakers, and resisted. They killed him not long after coming home. They said it was an accident, but we all knew it wasn't. The Capitol doesn't like being stood up. That's why they killed him. And now the Capitol is punishing us. That's the reason all of us had been picked, in Val's family. And that's the reason why you got picked too. They want Val to suffer. They know how close you guys are. One glass bowl had Val's name on them. The other, was filled with yours." She said.

I fell silent. All of a sudden I felt fury. I blamed Val's dad for everything. If not him, I wouldn't be in the Games. If he didn't resist or trick the gamemakers, the Capitol wouldn't have been stood up. If the Capitol didn't get stood up, we wouldn't be punished. _I WOULDN'T BE PUNISHED_. Now that I think about it, I was being _PUNISHED_ for being _VALA'S TWIN. HER TWIN. I DIDN'T_ do _ANYTHING BAD_ in my _LIFE_. And I was being _PUNISHED_. I played this over and over in my mind.

I kept my anger at bay knowing something bad would happen if I didn't. I felt that I should kill Vala. But the sane part of my mind was saying Vala didn't do anything. And I shouldn't because she was my friend. My _TWIN_.

I didn't decide now. I was going to decide in the arena. If I was still sane, I probably wouldn't. If I wasn't, then sorry, Val. I knew that I had to keep her close and watch out. She was probably deciding if she should kill me. I knew Vala probably wouldn't. _Probably._ I also knew that she was hoping some else would kill me.

I tried to calm down, and succeeded only a little. "Thanks for telling me Mrs. Hearst." I said, exhaling sharply.

"Your-" she tried to say.

"But it probably wasn't for the best." I added, cutting her off. My anger was still bubbling inside me.

They looked at me weirdly after I said that.

"Your five minutes are done." The peacekeeper said.

"Bye, Mrs. Hearst, Kenn. See you guys _after_ the games." I said cheerfully.

"Here is your last visitor Ms. Waters." The peacekeeper said.

My last visitor came in. This meant that I was finally getting my token. He had dark hair and blue eyes.

"Rye?" I asked, very surprised.

"Hey." He said, giving me a smile.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"To give you your district token remember?" He asked fishing something out of his pocket.

"Oh. Yeah." I said, _totally forgot about that_.

"Here," he said giving me a blue box.

I opened it, inside was a locket. I was shaped a like a sphere. And inside the locket, when you open it, was a tiny orb. It was a pearl. The pearl was white and glistened in the sun.

"I love it!" I said, hugging him. "How did you get it?" I asked.

"Adria and I bought the locket. The pearl, I found it." He said replying.

"Thanks." I said.

"Hey, no problem. Adria was going to give you the locket. With nothing I it. I asked if it was okay with her if I gave you the pearl. I showed it to her. And she loved the idea, so we went with it." He replied.

"Thanks, again."

"Yeah. Hey, can I ask for a favor? It's nothing big." He asked.

"Okay. What is it?"

"Can you try to win?" He asked, surprising me.

"Yeah. Of course! I promised Adria that, and I'm going to keep it." I replies.

"Yeah. Okay…for Adria." He replied.

"Your 5 minutes are up." The peackeeper outside the door said.

"Bye, Adrielle. Try to win okay?"He said.

"Yeah. I will. Thanks for the necklace, again! I really love it. Bye, Rye." I said as he was walking towards the door.

"See ya." Was the last thing he said before going out the door.

"If I win…" I mumbled.

I looked at the locket and pearl one more time. _I really did love it._ I was really pretty. The pearl reminded me of the ocean and Rye. The locket reminded me of Adria and home. When I put the pearl in the sun, it sent of reflections of rainbows across the room.

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	7. Chapter 6 Vala's POV Visitors

**Vala POV**

The crowd in front of the stage slowly began to disperse as the Peacekeepers led us into the Justice Building.

"I've been here too many times…" I murmured to Adrielle.

She gave me a sympathetic look. It's true though. This is my 3rd time in this building. My 4th time if you count when I was in my mom's abdomen. My mom was pregnant when she went into the games. I guess you could say I've been through a lot, even before I was born.

The Peacekeepers roughly shoved us into two separate rooms. The room I was in felt oddly homey for what it was used for; preparing us to be sent off to our death. This was the visiting room. The room that allows your friends and family to see you one last time before you go into the Games.

I sat down on a blue couch and stared around the room, bored. Conch shells were glued to the walls. Missing the sound of the roaring ocean, I pried a light pink one off of the wall with my fingers. I held it up to my ear. Nothing. It was made out of plastic. A fake. For some reason, this made me furious, I threw it back at the wall, just as my mom and brother walked in.

"You have 5 minutes," the Peacekeeper who was guarding the door said roughly.

My mom walked over and hugged me so tightly I was left breathless. Tears were streaming down her face as she said, "I love you, Val." She looked terrible, but at the same time she didn't look surprised.

"There was no mistake that you were picked, honey," she told me sadly.

"What do you mean?" I said, confused.

"Your dad…he resisted. He actually won the games, by tricking the Gamemakers. They killed him after, in what they claimed was an accident."

A memory suddenly flooded back into my head…

_I peeked through the keyhole into my mom's room. I was only 2, and had to stand on my tiptoes to reach it._

"_They can't rig the reaping!" My dad assured my mom, wrapping her up in a hug._

_My mom was crying._

"_Yes they can! Remember what they did to Ursula?" She said hysterically._

_Ursula was my mom's sister. She died in the games._

"_I know honey, but they can't take me away from you," my dad replied, calming my mom down._

"_But you've been resisting! They know it's you! The Justice Building was not burned down by accident and YOU of all people should realize that!"_

_I didn't know this at the time, but remembering that tells me that it was my dad who burned it down. He was resisting._

_My parents stood up and opened the door. They saw me._

_My dad knelt down in front of me and whispered, "Don't repeat anything we just said to anyone. Do you understand? If you do, daddy might have to go away for a long time. Daddy loves you sweetheart."_

_The next day, my dad was reaped._

_As I watched him in the Games on TV, I remember watching him rip something from his arm. The tracker. I remember him throwing his trident into the tribute from District 1. The Career went flying into the force field surrounding the Arena. At that, the TV screen went blank._

My mom went on, "That's the reason that we have all been picked. And Adrielle being picked? That was no mistake either. They know how close you guys are. One glass bowl was filled with slips that had only your name in them. The other one was filled with slips that only had Adrielle's name on them."

I gaped at my mom and brother.

"That's why you need to give the games your all," Kenn said, repeating what I had told Adrielle earlier. "You need to give them your all so you can show the Gamemakers, show the CAPITOL, that you are not their toy that they can play with. That's why you need to kill Adrielle."

It's been 15 minutes. I'm sitting on the blue couch, when the door opens. It's Mayor Waters, and his wife Mrs. Waters. Adrielle's parents."5 minutes!" the Peacekeeper said.

The Mayor and his wife stand awkwardly in the doorway.

"Come in," I say heavily.

They take a few hesitant steps toward me.

"I'm not going to bite you, you know," I say with a smile.

They chuckle sadly and come closer.

Mrs. Waters gives me a big hug and strokes my hair.

"You've been like a second daughter to me, Val," she said quietly, using my nickname.

I smile. I guess it's true. I basically live at Adrielle's house, and she lives in mine.

All of a sudden, I choke out, "I can't win, not if Adrielle's going too!"

Mrs. Waters pulled me back at arm's length, looked at me sternly, and said, "Your name, Vala, might mean 'chosen' but I happen to know that your nickname, Val, means 'brave'. I know that you can win these games. That doesn't mean I want you to kill my daughter, but it means that I know you are capable of doing it."

Mayor Waters stepped forward.

"Seeing as you don't have a token from our district, I have one for you," he said kindly.

Over my neck, he placed a light blue conch shell strung onto a thin wire. It was a necklace. I held the conch shell up to my ear and heard the roaring of the ocean. This was a real shell, not a fake, plastic, Capitol version of one.

"Thank you," I breathed.

Mayor Waters gave me a hug, and left with Mrs. Waters.

30 minutes have gone by. I'm still sitting in the Justice Building; on that horrible blue couch in that terrible room with those awful fake shells. I'm not expecting anybody else to come visit me. Adrielle would have come if she hadn't been picked.

I feel terrible. Adrielle was picked because of ME. Because of MY family. Now she might die because of me. This makes me feel worse. Kenn had told me to kill Adrielle. How can I, when I basically already have? Nobody comes home from the Games in their right mind.

I have already made up my mind. I'm going to kill her. I'm going to have to, so she doesn't suffer any more than she already has.

The door creaks open, making me jump. It's Adria, Adrielle's little sister.

There is no voice of a Peacekeeper yelling at us this time. Adria must have snuck in.

"What's up?" I ask her quietly.

Adria looks really upset. But hidden in her face…is it…guilt?

"I just wanted to let you know that I made Adrielle promise me this morning that she would win the games if she was reaped," Adria said in a very rushed whisper. "We pinky promised and everything."

Now I'm more confused than I was before. How can I kill Adrielle when she promised Adria, who's like a little sister to me, that she would win?

Not saying any of this to Adria, I just whisper back, "Thanks for letting me know."

Adria is about to walk out the door when all of a sudden she come rushing back to me and gives me a huge hug.

"I want you to win too you know," she whispered. "Promise me you'll do your best to keep Adrielle safe. And promise me you will try to win with her."

"I promise," I reply.

"Pinky promise?" She said with a small smile.

We linked our pinkies together.

"I promise," I repeated.

With that, Adria tiptoes out of the room.

I can't kill Adrielle. Not with her parents loving me as much as they love her. Not with them giving me a necklace. Not with Adria making me promise her that I'll do my best to protect her, and win. I _can't_ kill Adrielle. Can I?

**REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 7 Adrielle's POV Tour

**Chapter 7 - ****Adrielle's POV**

After everyone visited, the peacekeepers led me outside the door and back into the hall way where Vala and I met up again. I flashed her a cautious smile. I fell silent after that. I hoped I didn't look angry. Inside, I was trying to control my anger.

Vala's peacekeeper grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her along with him.

"I know how to walk," she said wrenching her arm out of his grasp.

I was thankful that my peacekeepers didn't do that to me, so I flashed them each with a smile.

The peacekeepers led us outside where it was already packed with photographers and other people wanted something form us. _Ugh,_ I thought. _Not in the mood._ When we came into view, several photographers pointed their camera at us and started taking pictures. The bright, white, light flashed at me, making me temporarily blind.

"Wow, an hour just passed and were already popular." Vala said.

I gave her a small smile in reply.

There were already Capitol people outside greeting us. They had weird skin colors, orange, blue, pink, and purple. It was their Capitol 'trends' again. They all reached out to touch us. They wanted to touch this year's tributes. _These people didn't care about us, they cared about the Games._

The photographers kept taking pictures, still blinding me. I didn't want to look bad in pictures so I started blowing kisses at everyone. "Hi!" "Hello!" I said, waving to no one in particular.

We finally got into the car that was taking us to the train station. I only noticed then that I had dots across my vision. While I was trying to get rid of the dots, I glanced at Vala. I noticed that she was doing the same thing too. Out of nowhere, I felt a giggle escape my lips. In a couple of seconds we were laughing for no reason.

When we calmed down, I noticed that my jaws ached_. Great, were not even in the Capitol yet and my mouth is already tired from smiling. _I was really glad that we were out of the crowd's view, because mouth was numb and I couldn't smile anymore.

Hermia came and rode in the car with us. She started babbling and babbling about how amazing the Capitol was. I groaned inside. _Oh Hermia, how I wish for you to stop talking this minute and be quiet_, I thought.

The car lurched to a stop. The drive only took us 5 minutes. I groaned. "More smiling. And my jaws already hurt." I mumbled quietly.

When the door opened, there were more photographers. _I was starting to hate the Capitol even more_. The photographers started blinding me again. _This is really bursting my bubble_.

Once again, I put on a fake smile. I hope the irritation didn't show through my eyes. I started waving and blowing kisses again. I hope I'll get sponsors this year, thought. All of this will all be worth it when I'm on the verge of dying in the Capitol.

When we were a few meters from the doors, Vala grabbed my hand and pretended to dance her way to the entrance. _Alright,_ I thought. I followed her lead. The crowd loved it.

The walk wasn't that far to the train station, but to me it took forever.

Inside, I tried to blink the spots out of my eyes again. I was really happy when we were inside because got to relax a few minutes. But that wasn't long because Hermia started talking again.

"You guys will meet your mentors not long after we board the train, so just relax." She said in her accent.

I exhaled loudly, "Relaxing sounds very good to me, Hermia. My mouth is tried from all that smiling."

"Oh! Honey! There's more! When you guys get off the train in the Capitol, make sure you have extra big and pretty smiles." She said, giggling once again, walking off.

Her Capitol giggle sounded weird. It was like normal giggling, mixed with a British accent, and something else. I didn't think about it was much. I was trying to _relax_.

About a couple of minutes later, the train pulled up.

We followed Hermia out the door to board the train. I was about to explode when the photographers started crowding us again. I did what I was supposed to do, "Extra big, pretty smiles!" I tried to control myself into not pushing all the photographers down. I managed to do that all the way to the train. I was very proud of myself.

When we were about to board the train, I noticed it was silver. It was one of those fast Capitol trains. Inside, it totally surprised me. I knew the Capitol trains were fancy, but not this much.

"I'm going to give you girls a tour of the train!" Hermia squealed.

"Make it quick. I'm about to crash." Vala replied.

"It will take as long as it needs to." Hermia said smugly.

"So, in other words 3 minutes? Because that's really only as long as it needs to be," Vala retorted.

Hermia glared at Vala, I snorted.

"Let's get this show on the road girls," Hermia said much less enthusiastically.

Hermia led a tour through the whole train. She started in the living room. It was the first room connected to the main part of the train, or 'car,' as Hermia calls it.

When you entered, the first thing you see is the white leather couch over at the left side of the room. There were two smaller seats on each side. The floor was covered in rich, purple, velvety, carpet. And it looked very cozy, and it was soft. The couch was facing a big TV on the right side of the room.

Hermia then led us to the dining room. The inside was huge; _I didn't know it was possible for a train room to be this big._ The walls were blue and green. There was a big wooden table centered in the room. Above the table was a glass chandelier. The chairs were cushiony and comfortable. And instead of carpet, the floors were now covered with wood. The dining room was where we would eat all the meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We next walked into a room filled with sweet scents. We were in the kitchen. There were Avoxes preparing food for our dinner. I didn't bother them because I figured they were busy.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you." Vala said reaching out.

I wondered why she did that. I only noticed then that these Avoxes looked scared.

The Avox Vala was talking to, jumped aside and quickly ran away from us.

Vala looked at up Hermia, who clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"You only speak to an Avox if you're giving them orders," she said, shaking her head. "They are _scum _so we must treat them like that."

I looked at Hermia unbelievingly.

"These people can't be scum if they're making our meals for us," I said angrily. "Maybe we're the scum for doing this to them. I mean, cutting their tongues? That is pure _evil_." I said.

Hermia now gave me her disapproving look. After that, she walked away telling us to follow her.

We went back to the main car and toured the other side of the train. It was where all the bedrooms were located. The car had one long hallway; there were 4 doors on each side of the train, each leading to a bedroom. My bedroom was the first door on the left.

When you walk in, the first thing you would notice is the bed. It was white, and it looked really fluffy. And it was also huge, fit for 5 people._ But it was only for me._

I resisted the urge to jump on the bed. Knowing if I did, Hermia would say something like, "Manners Adrielle!" Or something else stating that I was being rude.

Beside each side of the bed were a nightstand and a lamp. The color of the walls was a soothing shade of blue. Then on the far right of the room, there was a closet. And above the bed was a large window. (Thankfully, it had curtains.) And there was a door that led to the bathroom right next to the closet.

"All of the rooms on this train are like this." Hermia said. "Vala, yours is right next to Adrielle's second door to the left. You may 'crash' in that room." Hermia said.

"I'll stay here with Adrielle for now." Vala said.

"Alright. I'll leave you girls to get ready for dinner. It is promptly a 6:00. See you ladies then." Hermia said, walking out of the room.

I jumped onto my bed and exhaled heavily. "What time is it?" I asked Vala.

"Uhm, about 4:30." She replied.

"Alright. Wake me up at 5." I said, my eyes already getting heavy.

Vala said something, but I couldn't make it out. I was already half asleep.


	9. Chapter 8 Vala's POV Tour

**Chapter 8 – ****Vala's POV**

A Peacekeeper came into the room and yanked me off of the couch. He dragged me into the hallway where I met up with Adrielle. She looked a little bit mad about something. The Peacekeeper grabbed my arm again and started to yank me down the hallway.

I noticed Adrielle's Peacekeeper wasn't yanking _her_ arm.

Wrenching my arm out of his grasp, I said angrily, "I know how to walk."

The Peacekeeper glared at me but didn't try to touch my arm again.

Adrielle and I were led outside, where the sidewalk was packed with photographers pushing against each other, just so they could see us get into the car. Peacekeepers had to push the crowd back to keep them from ripping us apart.

"Wow, just an hour passed and we're already popular," I whispered to Adrielle, getting a small smile out of her.

Blue, green, purple, pink, and orange faces started up at us in awe. Lots of people were covered in sparkles. Hands coated in jewels reached out to us, wanting to touch this year's tributes. How revolting.

I then proceeded to blow kisses and smile.

"Hi! Hello!" I heard Adrielle calling out.

A few boys that I blew kisses too practically wet their pants. I was very surprised at that, because I've never thought of myself as pretty.

We finally escaped the crowd, and got into the car. Flashing lights were imprinted on my eyes from all of the cameras. I blinked a lot to get them out of my vision. When I looked over at Adrielle, I saw her doing the same thing. She looked at me and we both laughed.

Hermia clicked up behind us in her crazy shoes, looking completely unfazed by the photographers. There must be a lot of them in the Capitol. She got into the car with us and started yammering on about how _amazing_ the Capitol is, how _great_ the people are there, how much we'll _love_ the food.

I tuned her out and looked out the window, to get a last look at District 4. If I was lucky, I would see it again in few weeks.

5 minutes later we pulled up in front of the train station. We got out of the car and saw even more photographers. _Ugh_. Plastering a smile on my face, I walked towards the doors to the train station. I waved and blew kisses. I giggled and posed and did everything I could to earn sponsors. I saw some really crazy people even trying to catch the kisses I blew. At one point I even grabbed Adrielle's hand and we pretended to dance together down to the train, making the crowd crack up.

Finally, we made it into the train station, with spots dancing in my vision again. I blinked rapidly to get them out, and saw Adrielle doing the same thing. We didn't laugh this time. We were too exhausted from all the smiling.

"You guys will meet your mentors not long after we board the train, so just relax." Hermia said in her accent.

Adrielle exhaled loudly, "Relaxing sounds very good to me, mouth is tried from all that smiling."

"Oh! Honey! There's more! When you guys get off the train in the Capitol, make sure you have extra big and pretty smiles." Hermia said, giggling once again, and walking off.

The train finally pulled up. Putting on a big smile, _again_, I boarded the train. We made it.

The train was one of those very fast Capitol trains, and it was shiny silver. Kenn once told me that it goes 200 mph. I didn't believe him then, but looking at it now, it was completely believable.

I was just about to go relax my face, and maybe take a nap or a shower when Hermiasquealed, I'm going to give you a girl's a tour of the train!"

I rolled my eyes. How _exciting._

"Make it quick," I said impatiently, "I'm about to crash."

"It will take as long as it needs to," Hermia replied coldly.

"So in other words 3 minutes? Because that's really only as long as it_ needs_to be," I retorted.

Hermia glared at me but Adrielle snorted.

"Let's get this show on the road girls," Hermia said much less enthusiastically than usual.

She walked ahead of us, much faster than I would have expected her to seeing as she had been wearing her heels all day.

The first room Hermia showed us was the living room. It was huge, much bigger than you would expect the inside of a train to be. The first thing I saw was a gigantic, white leather couch on the left side of the room. The TV it was facing was just as big as the couch! On each side of the couch were small plush seats. The floor was covered in a rich purple colored carpet. It was incredibly soft.

After giving us time to take it all in, Hermia led us into another room.

"So this is the dining room," Hermia announced, pointing into a grand room with a big table in the middle. Both the floor and the table were made out of wood. Large cushiony chairs surrounded it. A gigantic chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, and the room was colored with all blues and greens. They were probably trying to make us think of the ocean, like they have with every room so far, but all I could think of was the Capitol.

I saw an Avox setting out our utensils and plates. When she saw us, she quickly scurried away.

"Breakfast is at 7:00, lunch at noon, and dinner at promptly 6:00," Hermia continued, ignoring the Avox. "Please do not arrive late, for the food gets cold."

_Oh no,_ I thought. _What a tragedy. Cold food. Imagine how horrible that is compared to most of the Districts with no food at all._ Many people die from starvation each year, especially the people from District 12.

Making a mental note to arrive late for dinner, I followed Hermia who was already speeding off to the next part of our tour, with Adrielle following close behind.

"Next up is the kitchen!" Hermia said, sounding more excited than she had before.

She pushed open a set of double doors and we hurried into a hot room with delicious smells tumbling around in the air. Huge pots and pans were simmering on stove tops. Large cakes were being frosted in one corner of the room. All of the walls were covered with cabinets that were filled with dishes and were everywhere, busily mixing, stewing, cooking, baking, and frosting. Whenever we got near one, they automatically looked anywhere except us.

Wondering why they were so scared, I reached out to the nearest one and said, "It's okay. We won't hurt you."

Looking like she had been burned where I touched her, the Avox leaped away from me and quickly ran to the other side of the room, her red hair streaming out behind her, and busied herself cooking something else.

Confused, I looked up at Hermia, who clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"You only speak to an Avox if you're giving them orders," she said, shaking her head. "They are _scum_ so we must treat them like that."

I honestly couldn't believe that these nice, busy people were scum. I could tell that Adrielle didn't believe it either. I know that Adrielle has some Avoxes working for her, but I rarely ever see them.

"These people can't be scum if they're making our meals for us," she said angrily. "Maybe we're the scum for doing this to them. I mean, cutting out their tongues? That is pure _evil_."Adrielle said, speaking up.

I'm glad that she voiced my thoughts for me, for I couldn't afford to have Hermia any angrier at me than she already was.

It was Adrielle's turn to receive a disapproving look from Hermia, who then walked off into a hallway.

We went back into the main car and toured the other side of the train. It was where all of the bedrooms are located. The car had one long hallway, with 4 doors on each side of the train. The first two on the left had big number 4's on them, so I assumed they were for Adrielle and I.

Sure enough, Hermia said, "Adrielle, the first door on the left is your bedroom."

We walked into a huge room. In the middle was a gargantuan white, fluffy bed. It was fit for at least 5 people. But it was only for one. On each side of the bed was a nightstand with a lamp on it. On one nightstand, there was an alarm clock. The walls were blue, of course. Above the bed was a huge window with long curtains. Out the window, I could see country side zipping by. On the far right side of the room, were two doors; one that led to the closet, and one that led to the bathroom.

"All of the rooms on this train are like this." Hermia said. "Vala, yours is right next to Adrielle's, second door on the left. You may 'crash' in that room."

"I'll stay here with Adrielle for now," I replied.

"Alright. I'll leave you girls to get ready for dinner. Don't forget it is promptly at 6:00. I'll see you ladies then." Hermia said, walking out of the room.

Adrielle jumped onto the bed and exhaled heavily.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Uhm," I said, glancing at the clock, "About 4:30."

"Alright. Wake me up at 5," Adrielle said, her eyelids starting to close.

"If I'm awake then," I muttered, lying down on the foot of her bed, sleep overcoming me.


	10. Chapter 9 Adrielle's POV Mentors

**Chapter 9 – ****Adrielle's POV**

_SLAM!_

I woke up to the sound of Hermia slamming the door open.

"Go get ready! Dinner started 15 minutes ago!" Hermia screeched at me.

I looked at the clock. _Well, what do you know?_ It did. _It was 6:15._ I walked to the closet and opened it. It was mostly filled with colors of the ocean. Blues, greens, dark purples. I remembered that we were meeting our mentors in a little while. I wanted to make a good impression, so I picked out something pretty.

I took out another dress. It was a calming shade of green. Like the green you would see in the ocean. It was knee length and had little seashells sewn on the bottom of it. Like Vala's Reaping dress.

When I looked back at Hermia, I saw that she was pacing around and mumbling about the food getting cold. How Vala and I didn't have manners and that she needed to teach us that very thing during training.

_She didn't notice that Vala was still sleeping._

I went in to the bathroom to change. It's so weird how everything here tried to remind me of home. Green and blue walls, the colors of clothes in the closet, the seashells…

When I walked out, Hermia was screaming at Vala.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL SLEEPING? DINNER STARTED 15 MINUTES AGO AND WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING _PATIENTLY __FOR_ YOU GUYS TO SHOW UP! THE PLUM STEW IS COLD!" Hermia said, exploding.

"Wha?" Vala said half asleep.

"GET YOUR BUTTS OUT TO THE DINING ROOM IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES!" Hermia yelled before stalking out of the room.

Vala looked at me, and then she burst out laughing. I joined in.

"Let's get going," I said, still giggling, "We'll be killed before the Games even start otherwise."

"How are you already out of bed?" She asked.

"I woke up when Hermia slammed the door," I replied.

"So you just let her scream at me?" She asked, jokingly.

"Yea, pretty much. Let's just say I was getting back at you for not waking me up at 5," I said, smirking.

"You foul, loathsome, little cockroach!" She said, throwing a pillow at me, and giggling. It was one of her favorite catch phrases.

Laughing, I threw the pillow back at my bed. "Let's get going."

Vala took a minute getting ready, and then we headed out the door.

"You're really a heavy sleeper Vala. Didn't you hear the door slamming? Or Hermia screaming at me?" I asked her.

"I heard screaming, but I couldn't hear what the words were." She replied.

"Okay," I said, giggling. "Come on, let's hurry. Hermia might start screaming at us again." I continued.

We half ran to the dining room. Before we even got inside, we bumped into Hermia.

"There you are!" Hermia said, obviously irritated. "The food is cold! And we've been waiting for almost half an hour!" She continued.

"Hermia, calm down!" A male voice said, from the dining room.

"Yea Rainbow, listen to him," Vala said, clearly enjoying Hermia's expression. The male voice started chuckling.

I walked in, Vala following close behind. In the dining room, I saw our mentors. I hoped that they were going to be our mentors this year. _It was Finnick and Annie! _

"Hello. Adrielle right?" Finnick said.

"Hi, yea. Adrielle." I said, stumbling over my words.

"Hi!" Annie said.

"Hi, Annie." I said, looking over to her.

"So, you must be Vala," Finnick said, looking over to Vala.

"Uhm, yea…I mean no! I mean, you can call me Val. Hi Finnick," She rushed; she was probably trying not to squeak. But she didn't succeed.

"Hi Val!" Annie said.

"Hey Annie," Vala said back, smiling.

"Take a seat!" Finnick said, gesturing to the seats around him.

I sat down next to Annie, who smiled at me kindly. Vala sat next to me. Hermia took the farthest seat away from Vala. I had to laugh quietly at that.

"You didn't start eating yet?" I asked.

"No! Eating without everyone is disrespectful!" Hermia said.

"You could've though." Vala said, replying to Hermia.

"It's _disrespectful_." Hermia said again, snapping at Vala.

"Okay Hermia, we get it. Stop arguing with Vala so we can eat." I said, slowly.

Hermia shot me a glare. Finnick shot me one of his 1000 watt smiles and chuckled.

When we sat down and got settled, the Avoxes came in to serve our dinner.

I took one of the spoons laid on the table and started to sip it. It wasn't hot like how I'd prefer it. But that's what we get for arriving late.

I glanced at Vala who was looking at Hermia flinch as Finnick made a small slurping noise. She picked up her bowl and slurped as loud as she could. I did the same. Annie looked at us and snorted. I looked at Hermia, her expression was priceless. After that, everyone at the table, except Hermia, was laughing.

Hermia got really annoyed, shouted something at Finnick, and stormed out of the room. I didn't hear what she shouted at Finnick because I was too busy catching my breath. But I caught 3 words, 'mentor them yourselves.'

We sat in silence after that and started dessert. It was a large frosted cake with ocean inspired designs. Colorful fish, sharks, sea shells, sea weed, and all that.

An Avox handed me a slice, "Thank you." I said.

The Avox was looking at me curiously. I didn't know why, but she looked familiar.

"So, what skills do you ladies have? We'll need you guys to perfect what you're good at, and try to at least learn how to use some new weapons. How about you, Adrielle?" Finnick asked.

"Oh. Uhm. I'm not really good at anything." I replied.

"Oh PUL-EEZ!" Vala scoffed at me. "Like you didn't win the Archer's competition when you were only 6 YEARS OLD! Oh, and all those trout we ate for dinner? It sure wasn't YOU who stabbed them with your spear and trident!"

Finnick and Annie laughed at her sarcasm. I blushed.

"Ok," Finnick said, "What about you Val?"

"Uhm. I don't really know anything." She said, squirming in her seat.

"'Oh! I don't really know anything!'" I said, mimicking Vala in a high voice. "Yes. You do. You can throw a knife and hit ANY target! And those trout we had? You helped me catch them with your _own_ spear and trident!"

I knew I had won. Kenn taught us how to use spears and tridents when we were little. I got archery lessons while Vala taught herself how to throw a knife.

"Val, show me how well you can throw this knife," Finnick said as he handed Vala the cake knife.

She eyed a painting of President Snow behind the door and threw the knife. The knife hit Snow right on his lips. She threw it so hard that only the hilt was showing.

We all clapped, I glanced at Finnick and Annie who had very impressed looks on their faces.

I realized that I had a jealous look on my face so I quickly changed it into a smile. But Vala noticed my jealous look.

"You'll have your time to shine later." She said playfully.

I laughed lightly and said,"I can wait."

She walked to the door and took out the cake knife. "Cake, anyone?" She asked sweetly.

We all had to laugh at that.

Once we were all done, the Avoxes took our plates away.

"Okay. Let's talk about getting sponsors." Finnick said. "We will arrive in the Capitol at lunch tomorrow. When we arrive at the Capitol, smile, wave, blow kisses, do whatever you need to do to earn sponsors. Be nice to people. Don't push or shove the photographers. Even if they get irritating-"

"They already did. I wanted to push them all down since we were on our way to the train earlier today." I said.

Finnick chuckled. "Anyways, if they do, don't do anything that'll make the Capitol not like you. Alright?"

"Okay. I won't," I said quietly.

Vala gave me a snort.

"See you guys tomorrow morning. Come on Annie." Finnick said getting up and walking to the door. "Night." He continued giving a small wave.

"Night." Vala and I said in unison.

Annie got up and followed Finnick out the door.

"Night Annie." I said to her.

"Good Night Annie." Vala said.

"Night Adrielle, Vala." She replied, smiling.

Once she was out of the door, I yawned.

"We shouldn't be so hard on her." I told Vala, suddenly. "Hermia, I mean. She's helping us get sponsors for the Games and she could relay help us in a life or death situation." I continued.

"Yeah. Okay. Sorry. I guess it's just the idea of that she's actually excited about sending us to the Games." Vala replied.

"Come on. I wanna go sleep." I yawned, getting up and walking out the door. Vala was following closely behind.

We walked to our rooms in silence. "Night, Vala." I said.

"Night, Adrie." She replied.

With that, I walked into my room and sat on my bed. I sat there for about a hour, thinking about the Games. _Will I one of the last tributes? Will I die on the third day?_ I knew that I would last past the first and second day. I was a Career. I was supposed to be strong.

I got up and went into my closet to take out pajamas. I picked a silky white gown and went in the bathroom to change. In the mirror, I saw a girl that was me, but not me. I looked really tired, and my eyes were half closed.

I walked out and jumped into my bed. I wonder what my family was doing right now. What Adria was doing right now. She was probably crying like she said she would. Then I remembered Rye and the necklace.

I jolted out of bed and looked around the room. Luckily, it was on a nightstand, on top my Reaping dress. I picked it up and clutched it in my hand. I fell asleep with the necklace in my hand, rolling the pearl around between my fingers.

I was thinking what would happen when I went home. _If, I went home_. The negative part of my said. I forced those thoughts out of my mind. _I am going home._ I would own a house in the Victor's Village. But I probably wouldn't live in it because I would stay in the Mayor's house. At _home_.


	11. Chapter 10 Vala's POV Mentors

**Chapter 10 - ****Vala POV**

I woke up to the very unpleasant sound of Hermia screeching into my ear, "WHY ARE YOU STILL SLEEPING? DINNER STARTED 15 MINUTES AGO AND WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING _PATIENTLY _FOR YOU GUYS TO SHOW UP! THE PLUM STEW IS COLD!"

I rubbed my eyes blearily and sat up. I glanced at my reflection in the giant mirror across from the bed. I looked like a train wreck, with my hair sticking up everywhere, and my dress twisted around my legs.

"Saywah?" I said unintelligently.

"GET YOURS BUTTS OUT TO THE DINING ROOM IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES!" Hermia yelled before stalking out of the room.

I looked over at Adrielle and burst out laughing.

"Let's get going," Adrielle said, still giggling, "We'll be killed before the Games even start otherwise."

Of course, this made me crack up even more. I was ecstatic that I had reached my goal of being late for dinner without even thinking about.

Now that I had rubbed the morning-ness out of my eyes, I saw Adrielle more clearly.

"How are you already out of bed?" I asked.

"I woke up when Hermia slammed the door," she replied.

"So you just let her scream at me?" I asked. I clutched my chest, pretending to be horrified.

"Yea, pretty much. Let's just say I was getting back at you for not waking me up at 5," Adrielle said, smirking.

"You foul, loathsome, little cockroach!" I said, throwing a pillow at her, and giggling. This was one of my favorite catch phrases.

Laughing, Adrielle threw the pillow back onto the bed. "Let's get going," she said.

I got out of bed and untwisted my dress. I took my hair out of its bun, and smoothed it out around my shoulders. So much for taking a shower before dinner.

"You're a really heavy sleeper, Val. Didn't you hear the door slamming? Or Hermia screaming at me?"Adrielle asked as we were heading out the door.

"I heard screaming, but I couldn't make out what the words were," I replied.

"Okay," Adrielle said, giggling. "Come on, let's hurry. Hermia might start screaming at us again."

We ran towards the dining room. Before we even got inside, we bumped into Hermia.

"There you are!" Hermia said, obviously irritated. "The food is cold! We've been waiting for almost half an hour!" She continued to scream.

"Hermia, calm down!" A male voice said from the dining room.

"Yea Rainbow, listen to him," I said, enjoying the shocked expression on Hermia's face. The male voice started to chortle.

I noticed Adrielle walk into the dining room, and I followed her. There, sitting at the gigantic wooden table were our mentors, Finnick and Annie. _Finnick and Annie!_

Seeing Finnick laughing, I realized that the 'male voice' was his. _Finnick's._I suddenly wished I had taken a shower and changed before dinner. I couldn't believe that he was here! I had completely forgotten that he was one of our mentors! Of course, I couldn't believe that Annie was here too.

"Hello. Adrielle, right?"Finnick directed at Adrielle.

"Hi, yea. Adrielle," Adrielle said, blushing.

"Hi!" Annie said.

"Hi Annie."Adrielle replied.

"So you must be Vala," Finnick said to me, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Uhm, yea…I mean no! I mean, you can call me Val. Hi Finnick," I rushed, trying not to squeak.

"Hi Val!" Annie said. She was always so chipper. I liked that.

"Hey Annie," I said back, smiling.

"Take a seat!" Finnick said, sweeping his arm around, indicating the seats around him.

I blushed and sat down next to Adrielle, who was sitting next to Annie. Hermia took the farthest seat away from me possible. I smirked at that.

"Well, come on, let's start eating," Finnick said, looking over at me.

"You didn't start eating yet?" Adrielle asked.

"No! Eating without everyone is disrespectful!" Hermia said.

"You could've though," I said.

"It's _disrespectful_," Hermia snapped at me.

"Okay Hermia, we get it. Stop arguing so with Vala so we can eat," Adrielle said. She was speaking slowly, like she was talking to someone who couldn't speak English.

Finnick chuckled and gave Adrielle one of his brilliant smiles. Hermia just glared.

We all settled down while the Avoxes served us dinner. I picked up my spoon and started to eat my soup. It was lamb stew, with dried plums, and it wasn't cold at all. It was delicious. I watched Hermia flinch as Finnick made a small slurping noise. I winked at him, and picked up my bowl. I put it up to my lips and started slurping as loud as I could, with flecks of soup dirtying the pristine white tablecloth. Adrielle began to do it too. I saw Annie snort into her own soup at the expression on the Rainbow's face. Within second everyone around the table, except Hermia, was cracking up.

Hermia finally just shouted at Finnick, "You can mentor them yourself! I don't care what happens! Just teach them some MANNERS!" and stormed out of the room.

One of those very awkward silences followed, that was broken up by an Avox setting an enormous, frosted, chocolate cake on the middle of the table. The outside of it was decorated with multi-colored fish, sharks, shells, seaweed, that kind of thing. _Ugh, I wish they would stop trying to remind us of home_, I thought. The Avox began cutting large slices, and she set them in front of us.

"Thank you," said Adrielle with a smile, as she received her slice. She was always the more polite of the two of us.

The Avox eyed her weirdly, set down the cake knife, and scurried away.

Finnick was the one who broke the second awkward silence of the day. "So, what skills do you ladies have? We'll need you guys to perfect what you're good at, and try to at least learn how to use some new weapons. How about you, Adrielle?"

Adrielle squirmed around in her seat and managed to say, "I'm not really good at anything."

"Oh PUL-EEZ!" I scoffed at Adrielle. "Like you didn't win the Archer's competition when you were only 6 YEARS OLD! Oh, and all those trout we ate for dinner? It sure wasn't YOU who stabbed them with your spear and trident! "

Annie and Finnick cracked up at my sarcasm and Adrielle blushed. I was right after all; she was amazing with a bow and arrow, spear, and trident.

"Ok," Finnick said, "What about you Val?"

It was my turn to squirm in my seat. "Uhm…I don't really have any skills."

Now, Adrielle scoffed, "Oh! I don't really know anything!" she mimicked in a super high pitched voice. I had to roll my eyes at that. "Yes. Yes you do. You can throw a knife and hit ANY target! And those trout we had? You helped me catch them with your _own_ spear and trident!"

I squirmed even more while Adrielle looked triumphant. I guess she was right. Kenn had taught us how to use spears and tridents when we were little, and we caught fish with them almost every day since. It was true that I was good with a knife too, that I had taught myself. I remember watching the Hunger Games one year and seeing a girl from District 12 win just by hitting everybody in the head with a knife. Mad that a girl from District 12 could throw a knife better than I could, I had gone out every night since I was 5, and aimed a knife at the target Kenn painted on the side of our garden shed.

Watching all of this happen, Finnick laughed and said, "Val, show me how well you can throw this knife," and handed me the cake knife.

Of course I had to be the one to show off, since none of the other weapons were available. I shyly took the knife from him. Glancing around the room, my eyes fell on a portrait of President Snow that was normally hidden behind the door. I stood up, and walked over to the point in the room that was farthest from it.

"Kiss your world good-bye, Snow," I said softly, with all eyes on me.

I whipped the knife across the room as hard as I could, and watched it stick right in his blood red lips, the knife buried so deep that only the hilt was showing.

Looking impressed, Finnick and Annie clapped. I blushed, and sat back down. Noticing Adrielle's jealous look, I whispered, "You'll have your time to shine later."

She laughed lightly and said, "I can wait."

Realizing I had left the knife in Snow's lips, I got up and yanked it out.

"Cake, anyone?" I asked sweetly.

Everybody laughed at that.

After we all finished our cake (it was delicious by the way), the Avoxes came and cleared the table.

Finnick leaned back in his chair, and said, "Okay. Let's talk about getting sponsors. We will arrive in the Capitol at lunch tomorrow. When we arrive at the Capitol, smile, wave, blow kisses, do whatever you need to earn sponsors. Be nice to people. Don't push or shove the photographers, even if they get irritating."

"They already did. I wanted to push them all down since we were on our way to the train earlier today," Adrielle said, voicing my thoughts.

Finnick chuckled and continued, "Anyways, if they do, don't do anything that'll make the Capitol not like you. Alright?"

"Okay. I won't," Adrielle said quietly.

Even though I knew she was sincere, I had to snort at that.

"See you guys tomorrow morning. Come on Annie," Finnick said, getting up and walking to the door. "Night." He continued, giving us each a small wave.

"Night," Adrielle and I said in unison.

Annie got up and followed Finnick to the door.

"Night Annie," Adrielle said.

"Good night Annie," I said.

"Night, Adrielle, Val," she replied.

Once she was out the door, Adrielle yawned.

"We shouldn't be so hard on her," Adrielle said suddenly. "Hermia, I mean. She's helping us get sponsors for the Games, and she could really help us in a life or death situation."

"Yeah. Okay. Sorry. I guess it's just the idea that she's actually _excited_ about sending us into the games," I said, suddenly feeling ashamed.

"Come on. I wanna go sleep," Adrielle said with an even bigger yawn than before. She got up and walked towards the door. I followed her.

We walked to our rooms in silence.

"Night, Val," Adrielle said as she walked into her room.

"Night, Ad," I replied quietly.

I walked up to my door with the big number 4 on it and sighed. I quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside. It was dark. I stumbled around trying to find a light switch, tripping over a million things in the process. I finally found it and flipped it on. The room was instantly flooded in light.

Squinting, I found my way over to the bathroom. The inside was blue, green, and purple with shells in the walls. For the first time in my life, my favorite colors and things were mocking me. After furiously brushing and scrubbing my face, teeth, and hair, I walked back out into my room to put on my pajamas.

The closet was _huge._ And of course it was filled with mostly ocean colors. _Ugh._ After finding the only red nightgown there was, I slipped it on. It was very light, loose, and floaty. I loved it.

I looked into the mirror and saw that I looked horrible. Hopefully that would be fixed tomorrow by my prep team. Thinking of my prep team reminded me to take one last look at my arm hair before it would be ripped off.

I finally crawled into bed. Then I realized that I had forgotten to turn off the lights. Grumbling, I got up again and went to turn it off. Right next to it, I realized, was another portrait of President Snow. He was _everywhere_. Knowing I wouldn't be able to fall asleep with that creep staring at me, I just decided to leave the lights on.

Now I had to have something to do.

I walked back into my bathroom until I found a drawer full of scissors. Figuring that those would have to do, I grabbed them and got back into my bed.

The scissors felt too bulky in my hands, so I took them apart, so each half would be like two knives. I took one, aimed, and threw it.

_**Thump**_. It hit Snow in the forehead. _**Thump**_. In the nose. _**Thump. Thump**_. In each of his snakelike eyes. _**Thump**_. His puffy, bloody, lips. _**Thump. Thump**_. His ears.

Running out of good targets, I just started throwing them all over his face.

_**Thump**__. Would I die the first day in the arena? __**Thump**__. Would Adrielle die? __**Thump**__. Should I kill Adrielle? __**Thump**__. Who are the other tributes? __**Thump**__. What will the arena be like this year? __**Thump**__. Will I survive the Games?_


	12. Chapter 11 Adrielle's POV

**Chapter 11 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I woke up at 2 in the morning. There was light in my room, but I didn't turn them on. I looked to see who did, and there, I saw Vala.

"Hey, Val. It's not exactly time for breakfast yet." I told her, with my voice filled with sarcasm.

"I know. I couldn't sleep, I was thinking about the Games." Vala replied.

"Yeah. And I was here…sleeping peacefully." I said sleepily. "Then someone woke me up by turning on the lights." I continued.

"Sorry. Do you want me to leave?" She asked me.

"No. Stay, you already woke me up." I said. "Just give me a minute to wake up more." I continued, walking into the bathroom. I looked horrible. My hair was a rat's nest, my face clearly showed I was tired, and my lips were chapped. _I'm going to get this all fixed in the Capitol,_ I thought.

I splashed a lot of water in my face, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. I didn't know that I was, but I had been crying. When I walked out, I found Vala sitting on my bed playing with my necklace.

"What's this? Is it your district token?" She asked.

"Oh. It's a necklace, there a pearl inside it, don't lose the pearl. And yes. It's my district token." I answered her.

"Who gave it to you? Your parents?" She asked me.

"No. Adria and Rye bought the necklace. Rye found the pearl." I said.

"Rye? From the bakery?" She asked.

"Yes. Now it's my turn to ask you the questions." I said. "What's your district token?" I asked.

"It's a conch shell necklace. Your parents gave it to me. Here, want to see it?" I handed Adrielle the necklace.

The shell was pretty. It had light shades of pink and it was very light.

"It's pretty," I said, handing it back to her. "So, what were you thinking about? Something about the Games?"

"Oh. Yeah. I was thinking about what would happen. If we would last or not. And how we would beat the other Careers." She said. "We need a plan." She continued.

"Okay, but first let's watch the recaps of the Reaping in other districts, then we'll know what we're up against." I said.

"Where?" She asked me, confused.

"In the leaving room. We could sneak in and watch it." I said. "Let me go change first."

I went back into the closet for the third time today. I picked out a simple blue t-shirt and yoga pants. I went into the bathroom to change and brush tangles out of my blond hair. In the mirror, I noticed my eyes were a color of dull blue. It was probably dull because I lack of sleep.

"Come on, I'm ready." I said. "Hey, can I have my necklace back?"

"Oh. Yeah, here." She probably forgot that she was still holding it.

"Thanks," I said putting it around my neck.

Vala turned out the lights in my room and we headed out into the hallway. I looked around to see if there was anyone around. That's when I noticed little sharp points sticking out of the wall.

"Wait. What's that?"

"What?" She asked me.

"Those little sharp points sticking out of the wall." I replied.

"Oh. There was a portrait of President Snow in my room. And I got irritated. So I took some scissors and threw them at his face."

"Oh. That's nice, I don't have a portrait of Snow in my room, but if I did, I would've done the same." I said.

"You don't have a picture of Snow?" She asked, surprised.

"No, my room is completely blank." I said.

"Oh. Lucky." She mumbled.

I laughed. "Come on. Let's hurry."

We made our way to the living room and turned the TV on.

"What channel is it?" Vala asked.

"I dunno. Just scroll through them." I said.

"Kay. I found it." Vala said as she clicked on the channel.

The recaps started at District One. The girl, Chiffon, didn't look too happy getting picked. The other tribute from District one looked like she wasn't happy either. Didn't they know that District 1 tributes are supposed to be eager to go into the Games? I guess not.

The District 2 tributes looked blood-thirsty as usual. We needed to be careful around them.

The other Districts passed by quickly. I was looking for allies beside District 1, and 2. They were already our allies, we were the Careers. District 7 was up.

"I want her." Vala said. "I want Lotus."

"Are you serious?" I asked her.

"Yes. People will underestimate her and we need that. We need to protect her, because Tyonna certantly won't."

"Okay. We'll ask her." I replied.

Districts 8 and 9 flashed by. District 10 was up.

"Kieran Sugita!" Their escort announced.

"I want her too." Vala said. "She's definitely a knife thrower. And she uses a bow and arrow."

"Okay. We'll ask her too. Are you taking Geddes?" I asked.

"No. I don't know. Let's see what she could do in training."

"Okay." I replied.

The other District Reapings passed by. I didn't like any of them, until District 12 came up. The first girl, Blaise Mellark, looked useful. She looked very athletic, and judging from her looks, she could handle a bow and arrow almost as good as me. _Almost_.

"I want her." I said aloud.

"Who? District 12?" Vala asked not believing me.

"Yes. I know an archer when I see one." I said smugly.

"Okay." She replied.

"Let's make a plan now. We need to beat the Careers so we could win." I said.

Vala muted the tv.

"Yeah. But you know that we can't both win." Vala said, sadly.

"I know, but let's leave that for later." I said, quietly. "Anyways, I was thinking of killing all the Careers at once. So none could get back at us for killing the others." I continued.

"I agree with you but slow down. What will we do when we first get into the Arena? We can't kill our allies. We should tell them to run off. We'll be allies with the Careers. But then when should we kill them?" She asked.

"I don't know. When they're unaware. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked her, eagerly.

"In their sleep." Vala and I said in unison.

I smiled. "See? We are twins." I said, getting a smile from Vala. "Okay. We could kill them in the 3rd day. That's when it usually gets hard." I continued.

"Okay. What do we do after that then?" She asked. "We can probably stay at camp." Vala continued.

"Yeah."

"Hey, what about our allies? You said that you were taking the District 12 girl with you. Blaise, right? How are we going to get them to be our allies if the other Careers say no?"

"We talk to them privately. Tell them to stay alive til the 3rd day. Then we could meet somewhere." I said, happily.

"Okay. But Ad?" She asked, using my nick name. "I don't want to kill them. We can't kill our friends, even if they're not our friends yet." Vala said, softly.

_She was getting weak already. The Games didn't even start yet, and she's already weak. We were supposed to win the Games, and not make friends. Once you enter the arena, no one is your 'friend.' _The negative part of my mind said. _Don't think like that,_ the other part of my mind said. So I pushed the other thoughts away.

"First, can we stop saying 'kill'? It doesn't sound right." I asked Vala.

"Sure." Vala replied.

"Okay. We'll have to kill them at some point." I said. Only then, I realized I said kill. _Oop_s.

"No!" She shouted. "Sorry," she said more softly this time. "I just don't want to kill our allies. I don't want to betray them like that. We'll just wait until someone else does it. Unless, it comes down to just us. Then we can. Then we'll have to," she said sadly.

"Okay," I said. "But if we have to do it, let's make it quick. I don't want anyone to suffer. Good plan?"

"Yes, if by a good plan you mean one could go horribly wrong in so many ways," she said, winking at me.

I laughed a little. After that, we continued in silence. Vala was the first to break it.

"I'm kinda scared." She said, quietly.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Me too." I said, surprised. Usually, I was the first to admit that I was scared. Vala was always the tough one. She was always the one to push me. "Don't worry. We'll make it through together." I said, comfortingly.

"I know. But we're not going into a playground with friends." She said.

"Yeah, I know. We're going to a playground filled with enemies trying to kill us." I said, trying to enlighten the mood. I was trying to stay positive.

"Okay." She said.

We were once again filled with silence. Vala unmuted the tv, to break the silence. The Reaping started over again.


	13. Chapter 12 Vala's POV

**Vala POV**

_**Thump.**_It was 2:00 in the morning. I had just thrown my last scissor half, hitting Snow on a big mole on his cheek.

I hadn't been able to fall asleep all night. I probably could now, now that Snow's face was completely covered in scissors. But I couldn't stop thinking about the Games. I needed to talk to Adrielle. We needed to strategize.

I quietly got out of my bed and crept quietly across the room, flinching when the door squeaked. The hallway was dimly lit with small lamps. Glancing back towards my room, right next to the door I saw a bunch of nails sticking out of the wall. I gasped, but then quickly stifled a laugh once I realized that it was the tips of my scissors. I would have a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

I slowly eased Adrielle's door open. She was curled up in her bed, sleeping, in a white silken nightgown, holding a necklace in her limp hand. Only when the city lights fell on her face from outside the window, I noticed that there were streaks on her face. Her eyes were red and swollen. She had fallen asleep crying.

I turned on the lights, and almost immediately, Adrielle woke up. She was a very light sleeper.

"Hey, Val. It's not exactly time for breakfast yet," Adrielle said sarcastically.

"I know. I couldn't sleep, I was thinking about the Games," I replied. I was too tired to be sarcastic back.

"Yeah. And I was here…sleeping peacefully," she said sleepily. Yea right, nobody can sleep peacefully before the games, unless they're drugged. "Then someone woke me up by turning on the lights," she continued.

_Ouch._I just wanted to talk to her about the Games. Couldn't she see how upset I was?

"Sorry," I said simply, "do you want me to leave?"

"No. Stay. You already woke me up. Just give me a minute to wake up more," she said.

Adrielle got up and walked into the bathroom. I heard the sound of running water and glanced around the room.

On her desk, was the necklace she was sleeping with. I walked over and picked it up. It was a gold locket, with a beautiful pearl in it.

"What's this? Your district token?" I asked Adrielle as she walked into the room.

"Oh, It's a necklace, there's a pearl inside it, don't lose the pearl. And yes. It's my district token," Adrielle said.

Still, I was confused.

"Who gave it to you? Your parents?" I asked her.

"No. Adria and Rye bought the necklace. Rye found the pearl," she told me. I noticed her blush as she said Rye's name, but I said nothing.

"Rye? From the bakery?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes. Now it's my turn to ask you the questions," she replied.

Hmm. Changing the subject. It looks like my twin has a crush on Rye.

"What's your district token?" Adrielle asked.

"It's a conch shell necklace. Your parents gave it to me. Here, want to see it?" I handed Adrielle the necklace.

"It's pretty," Adrielle said, handing it back to me. "So, what were you thinking about? Something about the Games?"

"Oh. Yeah. I was thinking about what would happen. If we would survive or not._How_ we would survive. How we would beat the other Careers. We need a plan," I replied.

"Okay, but first let's watch the recaps of the Reaping in other districts, then we'll know what we're up against." Adrielle said.

"Where?" I asked, confused.

"In the living room. We could sneak in and watch it," she said, "Let me go change first."

She walked into the closet, and put on a blue t-shirt and yoga pants. I noticed that the blue in her shirt was a lot brighter than her eyes, which were a dull blue. It must be from lack of sleep, her eyes are usually very bright. She then went into the bathroom and brushed out her hair.

Adrielle always had to look presentable, even if we were just sneaking out somewhere in the middle of the night. I just always wore what I was wearing. Thinking of that, I looked in the mirror. My brown curly hair looked like a rats nest on my head, and my nightgown now hung limply over my shoulders. There were big bags under my eyes. I looked terrible. I combed through my hair with my fingers, put it into a loose braid over my shoulder, and poofed up my nightgown a little. At least I looked somewhat presentable.

Adrielle walked out into the room.

"Come on, I'm ready," she said. "Hey, can I have my necklace back?"

I noticed that I was holding the necklace again, and my fingers were nervously rubbing the pearl. Oddly enough, rubbing the pearl soothed my nerves. It was like…what were those things called? Worry the 21st century.

"Oh yeah, here," I said, handing the necklace back to her.

"Thanks," she said putting it around her neck.

I turned off the lights and we walked out of the room, into the hallway. I saw Adrielle glance around. Looking at the plush carpet lining the hallway, I noticed that it was blue. Of course it was.

"Wait, what's that?" said Adrielle, pointing towards my door.

"What's what?" I asked.

"Those little sharp points sticking out of the wall," Adrielle replied, sounding alarmed.

"Oh. Those. There's a portrait of President Snow in my room. And I got irritated. So I took some scissors apart and threw them at his face."

"Oh. That's cool. I don't have a portrait of Snow in my room, but if I did, I would've done the same."

"You don't have a picture of Snow?" I said, very surprised.

"No, my room is completely blank," She replied.

"Oh. Lucky," I mumbled.

Adrielle laughed and said, "Come on, let's hurry."

I followed her down the hallway, still thinking about the Snow portraits. Why would I have a portrait of Snow in my room? And more importantly, why didn't Adrielle? But I couldn't think of these things now, we had to make a plan for the Arena.

We walked into the living room, and I sat down on the huge leather turned the TV and sat next to me.

"What channel is it?" I asked, picking up the remote.

"I dunno. Just scroll through them," Adrielle said.

I clicked through all of the channels. Most of them were pretty stupid, how to dye your hair, where the best clothing stores were, the best stylists, etc. I finally came upon one that showed a stage in front of the Justice Building in District 1.

"Kay. Found it," I said.

The recaps started. The two girls that were picked, Chiffon and Amber, didn't look too happy. They both had perfect blonde hair, and matching tall, athletic builds. They both looked very girly, but only too happy to tear somebody's throat out.

The District 2 tributes, Blair and Amaya, looked very bloodthirsty. We would have to look out for them for sure. The tributes from District 3, Pixel and Razi, looked very smart. Districts 5 and 6 both had one redhead each. That was unusual.

Nobody really stuck in my head until District 7 came up. The first person called up, Tyonna, looked like an average District 7 girl with her dark hair and eyes, and ribs sticking out. The next person called up, Lotus, was…dreamlike. She floated onto the stage in a light purple dress that matched her eyes. _Purple _eyes. Her long blonde hair flowed out behind her. She was just…glowing. It was very weird. When she got on stage, she grabbed the microphone and said, "Hello everyone. It's a very pleasant night, isn't it? Too bad the Glownifers aren't out," and looked very uncomfortable. I knew right away that I had to protect Lotus, I had to be her ally. She might be weird on the outside, but that didn't mean she wasn't very smart inside. I knew people would underestimate her, and she would be very valuable because of that.

"I want her," I told Adrielle. "I want Lotus."

Looking at me like I was crazy, Adrielle said, "Are you _serious_?!"

Nodding, I said, "Yes. People will underestimate her and we need that. We need to protect her, because Tyonna certainly won't."

"Okay…we'll ask her," Adrielle agreed, still looking at me like I was crazy.

District 8 had a very snakelike tribute, Nyoka, and tribute that I couldn't really figure out, Skyley. She wasn't showing any emotions. District 9 had yet _another_redhead, Semolina. The other girl, Adelle, was tall, but she looked like she was only 13.

Next was District 10. The first person called up, Geddes, look 17 and very cold. The next person was a little girl, Kieran. She had straight black hair that went down to her shoulders, and bright golden eyes. She was short, muscly, and looked a little brutal. She also looked sweet at the same time. The worst part; she was only 12. Looking at her, I knew I wanted her as an ally. I would never be able to kill a 12 year old, and she looked like somebody useful, somebody I could trust. Best of all, she looked like a knife thrower, and a bow and arrow shooter. She was somebody we could use.

"I want her too," I said, "She's definitely a knife thrower. And she uses a bow and arrow."

Knowing that my last sentence would sway Adrielle to let her join us, I wasn't surprised when she didn't put up an argument.

"Okay," said Adrielle, "We'll ask her too. Are you taking Geddes?"

"No. I don't know. Let's see what she can do in training."

"Okay."

District 11 was reaped. They didn't look useful at all. Then District 12 came up. The first girl who was called up was BlaiseMellark. She had long, dark, curly hair, bright blue eyes, and she was tall and athletic. She also looked to be about our age. She definitely knew how to use a bow and arrow. I didn't say this though, in case Adrielle got mad at me.

"I want her," Adrielle said.

Not a big surprise, but I pretended to not believe her, just to make sure that Adrielle_ really_ wanted this girl.

"Who?District 12?!"

"Yes. I know an archer when I see one," Adrielle said smugly.

_I do too_, I thought, rolling my eyes when she wasn't looking.

"Okay," I said simply.

The other girl from District 12, Calantha, didn't look very useful. The reapings were over.

"Let's make a plan now. We need to beat the Careers so we can win," Adrielle said.

I muted the TV.

"Yeah, but you know that we can't both win," I said sadly.

"I know, but let's leave that for later," Adrielle said quietly, "Anyways, I was thinking of killing all the Careers at once, so none of them could get back at us for killing the others."

"I agree with you but _slow down._What will we do when we first get into the Arena? We can't kill our allies. We should tell them to run off. We'll be fake allies with the Careers. But then when should we kill them?"

"I don't know. When they're unaware. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"In their sleep," we said together.

Adrielle smiled, "See? We are twins."

I had to smile at that.

"Okay," Adrielle continued, "We could kill them on the 3rd day. That's when in usually gets hard."

"What do we do after that? Stay at camp?" I asked.

"Yeah."

Hey, what about our allies? You said that you were taking the District 12 girl with you. Blaise, right? How are we going to get them to be our allies if the other Careers say no?"

"We talk to them privately. Tell them to stay alive until the 3rd day. Then they could meet us at the Cornucopia."

"Okay. But Ad? What are we going to do? I don't want to kill them. We can't kill our friends, even if they're not our friends yet."

"First can we stop saying 'kill'?" Adrielle asked, "It doesn't sound right."

"Sure," I said.

"Okay. We'll have to kill them at some point."

_She said kill…oh well. There's no way out of _doing_it, let alone _saying_ it._

"No!" I said, a little too loudly, "Sorry," I whispered, "I just don't want to kill our allies. We can't betray them like that. We'll just have to wait until somebody else does it…unless, of course, it comes down to just us. Then we can. Then we'll have to," I said sadly.

"Okay," Adrielle replied, also sadly, "But if we have to do it? Let's make it quick. I don't want them to suffer. Good plan?"

"Yes, if by a good plan you mean one that could go horribly wrong in so many ways," I said, winking at her.

She laughed, and then we fell silent.

All of a sudden, I felt fear building up inside of me, so much fear that I was about to burst. _I have to go into the Arena. I might die. I'll have to kill people. I'm going to be a murderer, _I thought.

"I'm kinda scared," I admitted suddenly, staring at my feet.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Me too," she said, looking surprised. I had no idea why she would be. Probably because I'm always the brave one. But sneaking out at night,walking on the ridge pole of a house, or taking any triple dog dares thrown your way, is _nothing_ compared to killing someone. Or being killed.

"Don't worry, Val. We'll make it through together," Adrielle said comfortingly, sensing my thoughts.

"I know. But we're not going into a playground with friends," I replied.

"Yeah, I know. We're going to a playground filled with enemies trying to kill us," Adrielle said, obviously trying to make me feel better. I just gave her a weak smile.

It was silent once again. To break the awkwardness, I unmuted the TV. Our Reapings were being shown again. They must put them on every hour, for our "entertainment".

I _really_ didn't want to see them again.


	14. Author's Note 2

**Author's Note:  
****8/5/12**

Hey guys, my friend and I won't upload chapters for the next 2 weeks. Maybe a little more than that.  
She's is going away for next couple of weeks and I can't upload any chapters without her.

**SO SORRY!**

But, I'm going to write POVs from the other tributes!  
Is that okay?

PM me if you have any suggestions on what should I write!


	15. Chapter 13 Adrielle's POV 74th HG

**Chapter 13 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I got bored so I went channel surfing. I stopped.

There, on TV, was the Reaping for 74th Hunger Games. The Reaping was half way done. District 12 once again, caught my eye.

There was little 12 year old that got Reaped. But some other girl, older, volunteered for her. The little 12 year old started crying a lot.

"No! Katniss! No!" The little girl screamed. _She reminded me of Adria_.

That's what her name is, the District 12 tribute. _Katniss_, like the water plant. The boy tribute was chosen.

"Peeta Mellark!" The escort said, Effie.

_Mellark. Mellark. Mellark_. My head was saying. The District 12 girl, Blaise, that was her last name.

"Mellark!" I said aloud.

"Yea, I noticed the same thing!" Vala said excitedly. "Where have we heard that name before?!" She asked, still excited.

"Mellark! That's Blaise's last name! She might be related to him!" I said, pointing to Peeta.

We continued watching the Games. The chariot parade soon came. The cameras kept focusing on the Katniss girl. She looked amazing. She was wearing a black fitted suit. And she was on fire. _On fire_. I wanted to look like that. I wanted the same designer to design my costume for the parade.

"Who do you think designed that costume?" Vala asked before I could.

"I don't know. But I want them to design ours. They look amazing." I said.

"Yeah." Vala said, still in awe.

We continued watching, the training scores came up next. The Careers got an average of 9's and 10's. The other Districts were an average of 5's. The District 11 boy, Thresh, got a 10. Katniss got an 11, and Peeta, got a 9. That wasn't average for District 12's. I wonder what Katniss did; she was probably good with a bow and arrow. I could tell she was an archer. Peeta probably lifted or threw some weights.

The interviews started, I didn't notice the other Districts because I was too busy waiting for District 12. I don't know why I was so interested in District 12 this year. They were usually weak, like in the past Games I watched. District 12 tributes were usually killed on the first day, almost right after the gong sounds. Or as the Careers call it, the blood bath.

Finally, District 12 came up. I couldn't decide what Katniss's angle was. She was a bit shy, but she got more confident. Until they talked about the little girl. The little girl was her sister, Prim. She couldn't let her go into the Games, so she volunteered.

"That's sweet; I would've done the same for Adria." I said aloud.

"What? Oh, yeah. I know you would." Vala said.

The buzz sounded. Katniss's interview was over. I was a bit sad. I wanted to know more about this Katniss girl. It was Peeta's interview now. His angle was clearly charming, and a bit arrogant. Caesar interviewed him about home. He asked if he had someone 'special.' Peeta was nervous at first, but Caesar finally convinced him.

"She came here with me." Peeta said.

The crowd went "Oooh."

The cameras focused on Katniss, she had a very surprised look on her face. The buzz sounded. Peeta's interview was over.

_Poor Peeta_, I thought.

"Well, best of luck to you Peeta." Caesar said, finishing off.

"Thanks Caesar," Peeta said sadly walking off to his seat next to Katniss.

"Berries!" Vala shouted.

"What?" I asked her, confused.

"Remember?!" She asked me excitedly. "The forbidden 74th Hunger Games?! The one that nobody was allowed to talk about?"

"Yeah!" I said, excitedly. "The one where they used berries to trick the gamemakers! I remember! But not that much, you told me the story years ago."

"Exactly! If we can pull a trick like that, then we might make it out of the Games alive and together!"

_If,_ Vala said. _I know I'll make it out alive_, I though.

"Okay." I said. "Let's try."

"Wait! There's more!" She said, "Katniss and Peeta did that because they loved each other! That means that Katniss is Peeta's wife! _And Blaise is their daughter!_"

"Yeah!" I said, excitedly. "Blaise definitely looks like the two of them."

We continued in another period of silence after that.

The screen changed to the Games. Everyone was on their podiums. The voice was counting down from 5.

_5, 4, 3, 2, 1…_

The gong sounded and everyone ran. I focused on the blood bath. Readying myself on what would happen in a couple of days. It was truly horrible. There were corpses lying a few feet from each other. After that, the Careers were cheering and high-fiving.

_What's wrong with those people? They disgust me, I can never be happy right after killing someone. Unless it was the District 2 tributes. I could tell they were always out for the kill, they were blood-thirsty_. All these thoughts ran through my mind while I watched them.

The Careers gathered their supplies and settled for the night.

"That's what would happen to us." I said to Vala.

"Yeah. But we're not going to be one of the corpses." Vala said, trying to cheer me up.

"I know, but I don't like looking at it. Imagine what the blood lying around after the blood bath is over when we get into the arena." I said, trying to imagine what I just said. "Wait. Don't. It's disgusting." I said.

Vala laughed lightly. "I tried. And yeah, I wasn't pretty."

We were silent after that. The cameras were now focused on some tree. I squinted, and inside, you can see a girl and an orange backpack. It was Katniss.

"Is that Katniss?" Vala asked.

"Yeah. I think it is." I said.

Katniss was in a sleeping bag tying herself onto a branch of a tree with a rope. She probably did that so wouldn't fall off. _Smart_. The anthem played and showed the tributes killed on the first day.

"Rue made it." Vala said, sighing with relief, sighing with relief.

"Who?" I asked her.

"Rue! The little 12 year old from District 11!" She replied.

"Oh. Yeah. I think I remember her." I said.

_Vala was worried for a little twelve year old, how sweet. I would be too, if it was Adria. But I'd never let Adria go into the Games. _

The screen blacked out for a minute, then the Games came back on. The cameras were still pointed at Katniss. She woke up to the sound of a cannon.

_BOOM!_

There was talking and footsteps. The cameras focused on the people. It was the Careers …and Peeta.

"_PEETA?!_" I said, too loudly.

"Yup. It's him." Vala said, quietly.

"Why is he there? Why did he team up with the Careers?" I asked. "Without Katniss…"

"I don't know. Maybe he has a plan. He wouldn't try to kill her if he loves her. And he obviously won't if they both end up surviving." Vala said.

It just dawned on me that they killed someone. We continued watching. The cameras zoomed in on Katniss, I could tell that she was tensed. I would be too, if I wasn't a Career.

The Games continued, we kept watching. 2 days had passed for them. It was filled with people dehydrated and the Careers hunting for people. Once again, the cameras focused on Katniss, she was in a tree sleeping, and there was a wall of fire around her. She awakened, she started untying herself from the branch she was sleeping on, and started running. While she was running, balls of fire were flying around trying to hit her. On caught her on the calf, she suffered badly after that. At night, she settled in a tree again. That night she received medicine for her burnt calf. And that night, she was spotted by the Careers. She would've been dead but Peeta suggested killing her the day after.

The Games passed by quickly. Probably because I was sleepy. It was now Day 9. Rue became Katniss ally. They blew up the Careers' food and supplies. Rue was killed by Marvel with a spear, almost right after that. Katniss was filled was so much anger that she killed Marvel. Katniss sang to Rue until her last breath.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down you head, and close your eyes  
And when they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

It was really sweet. Katniss had a singing voice like an angel. But I could tell that she doesn't sing that often. After that, she surrounded Rue with flowers and held a up a 3 fingered salute. She had tears in her eyes, but they didn't fall. She then walked away. Probably trying not to look back.

Rue looked at peace. Her wound in the stomach was covered with flowers, so she just looked like she was sleeping. I even think Rue was smiling a little.

"That's so sweet." Vala said.

"Yeah." I said, kind of whispering.

I yawned, without permission, my eyes closed. I dreamt.

_This is my last shot. I could win it or lose it. _

"_Go Adrielle!" My mother and my father shouted from the bleachers. _

_I strung my arrow positioned myself to shoot the target. I let go._

"_Bulls eye!" The announcer said._

_I jumped up and down in excitement. _

"_Wooooooooooo!" Everyone cheered, including me. _

"_The winner of this completion is Adrielle Waters! Only at age six! Wow!" He continued. _

_My coach, Nina, lifted me up and tossed me around. "Good job! I'm so proud!" She said. _

"_Thank you! And thank you for training me!" I said to her. _

"_You are every welcome, Adrielle."_

_My parents ran to me, Adria in my mom's arms. Adria was only a year old then._

"_Mommy! Daddy! I won!" I shouted, jumping into my dad's arms._

"_Yes, you did sweetheart. Were so proud of you!" My dad said._

"_Very proud," my mom added. _

"_Thank you! Adria! I won!" I said, playing with her cheeks. "I won!"_

_Adria giggled. _

_The announcer walked over to us. "Here's your trophy Adrielle." He said, handing the gigantic trophy to me. _

"_Daddy! Can you please let me down? I want to stand next to the trophy!" I asked politely. _

"_Alright sweetheart." My dad said, letting me down._

_I stood next to the trophy and got a family picture._

I woke up.

"Adrielle?" Vala said, shaking me.

"What?" I asked her.

"You took a little nap." She told me.

"Oh. Okay. How long was I asleep?" I asked her.

"About half an hour, I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful, but I wanted you to watch the Games."

"Okay. I'll watch. What did I miss?" I asked.

"Oh. Well, there was a rule change, two tributes can now win. But only from the same district. Katniss finds Peeta. It turns out he did have a plan after all. Peeta's sick and wounded though, and Katniss wants him to heal. She drugs him with a gift from her sponsors, and retrieves medicine from the Cornucopia, during the feast. She almost gets killed by Clove, but Thresh kills Clove before that could happen." She said taking a breath.

_That's sweet and certainly very brave of Katniss,_ I thought. _I probably would've done the same._

"Then Thresh lets her go because she…because she was allies with Rue." Vala said, choking out the last sentence.

"Then," she continued, "Katniss gets back to Peeta with the medicine, and he gets a little better. Cato kills Thresh. Foxface gets killed by eating poisonous berries. Now only Katniss, Peeta, and Cato are left."

"You said 'kill' a lot." I said quietly.

Katniss and Peeta were now at the Cornucopia, talking. Then suddenly, Cato runs out of the woods and pushes past them. He looked scared. That's when they notice the dogs coming out of the woods. They began running; Peeta was slow because of his leg wound. Cato was already up on top of the Cornucopia. Katniss was helping and dragging Peeta along, which made her slower.

"Go Katniss! I'll hold them off!" Peeta said.

"No. I won't go without you." She replied.

_That's nice of you, Katniss…_

She half carried him off the Cornucopia. She was the first to get on top, and then she helped Peeta on. But the dogs were clawing him back down, making more wounds on his leg. Katniss shot the dog, the mutt, and helped Peeta on top. Peeta lost a lot of blood.

_Ew. That's a lot of blood gushing out. I hope I don't see that in the arena,_ I thought.

Weakened like this, Cato sees the opportunity to grab Peeta and hold him by the neck.

"Shoot me, and we both go down." Cato said.

Katniss shoots an arrow in Cato's hand, this makes him loosen his grip on Peeta, Peeta punches him in the stomach, and this made Cato fall over. Cato fell into the sea of mutts surrounding the Cornucopia.

The cameras focused on Cato. He was still alive. _That's weird_, I thought. He had deep scratches on his body caused by the claws of the mutts. Cato was still alive at dawn, that's when he pleads for help. Katniss shoots with her last arrow into Cato, as an act of mercy. The cannon went off.

_BOOM_!

When the cannon went off, the mutts ran back to the woods.

_Poor Cato, he deserves it though. He was a blood-thirsty guy. And, he tried taking Peeta into the mutts with him. Not a good idea, _I thought.

Katniss and Peeta went away so Cato could be taken away by the hovercraft. They went back to the cave Peeta had been treated in, their hide out.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the rule change has been revoked. There can only be one winner of the 74th Hunger Games!" Claudius Templesmith announced.

Vala and I gasped. _I remember now the whole story now!_

Peeta insists Katniss to just shoot him with an arrow, so he could quickly die.

_Aw. But I knew Katniss couldn't do that. She 'needed' him_.

Katniss pulls out a small pouch that she kept in her pocket. _That's where she kept the poisonous berries! The same poisonous berries that killed Foxface. _Neither of them wanted to kill each other, so she put berries in her and Peeta's hand.

_They were going to commit suicide. They couldn't live without each other,_ I thought.

"On the count of three." Katniss said. "One…" She started.

"Two…" Peeta said.

"Three!" They both said in unison.

Before they could pop the berries in their mouth, the voice of Claudius Templesmith announced something.

"Wait! Wait! I give you, the _victors _of the 74th Hunger Games! Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"

And with those last words, the screen blacked out.

"Wow." I said to Vala, looking over to her. She was asleep, I didn't want to wake her so I left her like that. I also didn't want to go back to my room alone, so I slept on the other side of the couch.

I closed my eyes. _That was very smart. But I wasn't fooled. They didn't live happily ever after; Snow had to get back at them. I remember Mrs. Hearst saying that the Capitol doesn't like being stood up. Snow didn't like being stood up._


	16. Chapter 14 Vala's POV 74th HG

**Chapter 14 – ****Vala's POV**

After forming our plan, Adrielle began to channel surf.

She stopped on a channel that was showing the Reapings for the 74th Hunger Games. We watched all of the tributes being picked. I noticed that a 12 year old was picked from District 11. I hate the Games. Then, District 12 came up. There was another 12 year old that was picked. She kind of looked like Adria. But wait…her older sister, Katniss, volunteered for her. "Peeta Mellark!"

I jumped at the name "Mellark". Where had I heard that name before?

"Mellark!"Adrielle said loudly, making me jump again.

"Yea, I noticed the same thing!" I said excitedly, "Where have we heard that name before?!"

"Mellark! That's Blaise's last name! She might be related to Peeta!" Adrielle said, even more excited than I was.

We continued to watch the Games. The chariot parade came up. Katniss and Peeta looked stunning, in their dark clothes that were lit on fire_. I hope I look that good_, I thought.

"Who do you think designed that costume?" I asked, in awe.

"I don't know, but I want them to design ours. They look amazing." Adrielle replied, sounding just as awed as I was.

"Yeah," I said.

We kept watching. Up next were the training scores. The Careers all averaged 9's and 10's. Most of the other Districts got 5's. I noticed that the little girl from 11, Rue, got a 7. I wonder how she did that. Then I noticed District 12's scores. Peeta got a 9, and Katniss got an 11! If Blaise really was related to Peeta, then she was definitely as skilled as Adrielle believed she was.

Up next were the interviews. Rue came up again, and she was very sweet. The only thing I could think was, _**If **__Blaise is related to Peeta, then that means that Peeta won! Which means that Rue died._

I shook these thoughts from my head and watched Katniss's interview. Apparently the little girl she had volunteered for was Katniss's sister, Prim.

"That's sweet; I would've done the same for Adria," Adrielle said.

"What? Oh yeah. I know you would," I replied.

A buzz sounded from the TV, Katniss's interview was over.

Now it was Peeta's interview. He was very charming, and slightly arrogant. At one point, Caesar asked if he had someone "special". I listened very closely at that point. My mind was racing. _Whoever Peeta likes is probably his future wife! This would mean that that person would be Blaise's mom!_

I waited as Peeta paused_. Come on Peeta,_ I thought, _answer already!_

"She came here with me," Peeta said.

The crowd gasped, and I saw a stunned expression on Katniss's face. She obviously didn't expect that to happen. At the sound of the buzzer, a memory flooded back…

"_Have two people ever won the Games?" I asked Kenn._

_I was only 6, and was very interested in the Games. And confused._

_Pinching my cheek playfully, he responded, "Yes, there was one time that happened. It was in the 74__th__ Hunger Games."_

"_What happened?" I asked eagerly._

"_Well…" Kenn replied, "There were two tributes from District 12. They were madly in love with each other."_

"_District 12?!" I interrupted, too surprised to stay quiet._

"_Yes, now shh," Kenn said. "Each of them, Katniss and Peeta, was willing to die for the other one. They tricked the gamemakers by using-"_

"Berries!" I shouted out suddenly.

"What?!" said Adrielle, very confused.

"Remember?!" I said, excitedly, "The forbidden 74th Hunger Games?! The one that nobody is allowed to talk about?!"

"Yeah!"Adrielle exclaimed, catching on. "The one where Katniss and Peeta used berries to trick the gamemakers! I remember! But not that much, you told me the story years ago."

"Exactly!" I cried out. "If we can pull a trick like that then we just might make it out of the Games alive, alive and together!"

"Okay, let's try," Adrielle said.

"Wait! There's more!" I said, sounding like an infomercial. "Katniss and Peeta did that because they loved each other! That means that Katniss is Peeta's wife! _And Blaise is their daughter!_"

"Oh yeah!"Adrielle said, excitedly. "Blaise definitely looks like the two of them."

I looked closely at the Katniss and Peeta in the parade and thought back to what Blaise looked like. Blaise inherited Peeta's striking blue eyes, and Katniss's dark hair. Blaise also got Katniss's tall, athletic figure. If Katniss and Peeta both had survived the Games, that meant Blaise's chances of winning were high, even higher than ours. If we were going to survive, we pretty much _had _to be her ally.

I didn't mention this to Adrielle. We had already agreed on having her become our ally, and the more I pushed Adrielle into doing something, the more she didn't want to do it. In this case, that could result in us dying. I'm glad I could keep my mouth shut, _sometimes._

We fell silent yet again. All of a sudden, the screen began a countdown. The tributes were standing on their podiums, surrounded by woods.

_I hope we get woods_, I thought. Woods usually provide the most entertainment for audiences, and therefore they are the most frequently used arenas. Arenas with temperatures or land that are too harsh cause the tributes to die quicker, without all of the "fun" of watching the tributes kill each other instead.

_5…4…3…2…1…_

The gong sounded, and everybody ran. The Careers ran straight for the Cornucopia, grabbing all the weapons they could get their hands on. _That's what we're going to have to do._ The smarter tributes ran straight into the woods, for cover. However, some of the stupider ones tried to get their hands on a weapon or two. Those ones were killed within seconds. In 10 minutes, it was over. It was horrible, with bloody corpses scattered across the ground. The cannon went off. I lost count of the shots at 5.

The Careers started to cheer and high-five each other. I promised myself I wouldn't do that. They then gathered their supplies up and set up camp for the night.

"That's what would happen to us," Adrielle softly said to me.

"Yeah. But we're not going to be one of the corpses," I said firmly.

It was actually very likely that we wouldn't be, as long as we were able to become "friends" with the rest of the Careers.

"I know, but I don't like looking at it. Imagine the blood lying around after the bloodbath is over, when we get into the arena," Adrielle said.

I thought of all the bloody, distorted bodies lying on the ground, soon to be picked up by the giant claw.

A split second later Adrielle said, "Wait. Don't. It's disgusting."

I laughed lightly and said, "I tried. And yeah, it wasn't pretty."

We got quiet again, and turned our focus back to the TV. I saw a girl sitting in a tree, with a bright orange backpack.

"Is that Katniss?" I asked, trying to see the girls face better.

"Yeah, I think it is," Adrielle replied.

Katniss shuffled around in the tree, and brought out a sleeping bag. She got into it, and tied herself to the tree branch with a rope. It was impressive, how smart she was. I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen her grab the backpack! I was probably too busy trying not to look at the blood to notice.

The anthem played and all of the tributes that were killed were shown. I held my breath until the very end, and then sighed with relief.

"Rue made it!" I said out loud.

"Who?"Adrielle said.

"Rue!The little 12 year old from District 11!" I said, surprised that Adrielle didn't remember Rue. I mean, who couldn't?!

"Oh yeah. I think I remember her," Adrielle said.

The screen blacked out for a minute, and then came back on. We watched Katniss wake up to the sound of a cannon.

BOOM!

There was a lot of loud talking and footsteps. The camera then focused on the Careers. And Peeta. Peeta was with the Careers?!

"PEETA?!"Adrielle shouted.

"Yup. It's him," I said quietly.

"Why is he there? Why did he team up with the Careers? Without Katniss…" Adrielle said, freaking out.

"I don't know," I said, thoughtfully, "He probably has a plan. He wouldn't try to kill her if he loves her. And he obviously won't if they both end up surviving…" I trailed off.

Then I remembered the sound of the cannon, somebody had died. Was it Peeta who had killed them? I saw Katniss tense. The same thoughts that were running through my head were probably going through hers.

The Careers walked by, without noticing Katniss. The Games sped by quickly. Katniss became severely injured by fire, courtesy of the Gamemakers. However, she received medicine for her burned calf that night. The Careers finally found Katniss. She would have died if Peeta hadn't suggested killing her the next day. By this point, I could tell that he had a plan.

The Games passed even quicker, but then slowed to a halt all of a sudden.

Rue, who had become Katniss's ally (causing a loud cheer from me, resulting in Adrielle rolling her eyes), was killed. Katniss had gone to blow up the Careers food supply (it worked by the way), and Rue had been caught by Marvel. Marvel had speared her in the stomach.

Katniss, enraged, shot Marvel in the head immediately. I would have done the same thing.

Rue's last wish was for Katniss to sing to her. As Katniss's melodic voice filled the air, I cried silently.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down you head, and close your eyes_

_And when they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

Rue took one last breath and became still. Katniss then laid daisies on Rue, covering the wound. Katniss held up a 3 fingered salute, and walked away.

Wiping away my tears before Adrielle could see them, I said, "That's so sweet,"

"Yeah," Adrielle whispered.

I noticed Adrielle drift off, and fall asleep. She looked so peaceful, sleeping. I decided not to wake her up.

Half an hour later, Adrielle stirred.

"Adrielle?" I said shaking her awake.

"What?" she asked, sleepily.

"You took a little nap," I informed her.

"Oh. Okay. How long was I asleep?"

"About half an hour, I didn't want to wake you up. You looked so peaceful, but I wanted you to watch the Games. You need to see what's going on."

"Okay. I'll watch. What did I miss?"

"Oh. Well, there was a rule change. Two tributes can win now, as long as there from the same District. Katniss found Peeta. It turns out that he did have a plan after all. Peeta is sick and wounded though, and Katniss wants him to heal. She drugs him with a gift from their sponsors, and retrieves medicine from the Cornucopia. She almost got killed by Clove, but Thresh killed Clove before that could happen. Then Thresh let her go because she…because she was allies with Rue," I said, choking out the last part.

"Then," I continued, "Katniss gets back to Peeta with the medicine, and he gets a little better. Cato killed Thresh. Foxface gets killed by eating poisonous berries. Now only Katniss, Peeta, and Cato are left."

"You said 'kill' a lot," Adrielle said quietly.

Of course I did. It is the Hunger Games after all. It's all about killing.

I just stared at the TV. Katniss and Peeta were at the Cornucopia, talking. All of a sudden, Cato runs out of the woods and pushes past them. He looked scared. That's when I noticed the mutts following him.

Every year, the Gamemakers put some kind of mutation into the Arena. They usually do it when there is a slow day, one without much killing. That year, the mutts were awful. They were dogs, and they had the eyes of all of the dead tributes. With a pang, I noticed Rue's.

Now Katniss and Peeta were trying to run. Peeta couldn't run because of his leg wound, so Katniss was dragging Peeta along with her. Cato was already on top of the Cornucopia, which was where Katniss and Peeta were trying to go to.

Katniss got on top of the Cornucopia, and tried to get Peeta up with her. One of the mutts tore at his leg, making it worse than it already was. Katniss shot it in the head with an arrow. I didn't look at the mutt's eyes, in case it was Rue's.

Seeing Peeta weakened, Cato grabbed him.

"Shoot me, and we both go down," Cato said threateningly.

Katniss shot him in his hand, causing him to let go of Peeta. Peeta punched Cato in the stomach, causing him to fall into the sea of mutts.

Cato was being attacked by the mutts. I could barely watch. But the weird thing was…he wasn't dead. It had been almost an hour, and he wasn't dead. _He must be wearing some type of armor_, I thought.

Finally, Cato started to plead for help. It was obvious that he just wanted his life to end. Katniss finally shot him in the head, as an act of mercy.

It was over. Katniss and Peeta had won!

Or had they…?

Nobody game to get them. They were stranded on the Cornucopia.

"What's going on?" I asked Adrielle.

"I don't know, but there had to have been some rule change if Katniss and Peeta had to trick the Gamemakers in the end," She replied.

I nodded, my eyes glued to the screen.

Sure enough, within seconds, an announcement was made.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the rule has been revoked. There can only be one winner of the 74th Hunger Games!" Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed out.

Adrielle and I gasped. _This is when they use the berries, _I thought.

Peeta started insisting that Katniss should just shoot him with an arrow, so he could die, and she could win. I was amazed when Katniss refused. _She wouldn't take the opportunity to just kill him, and get the Games over with? _I thought. _It's so easy! She must love him a lot._

Finally, Katniss pulled a small pouch out of her pocket. It was the pouch she kept the berries in. The berries that had killed Foxface. She poured some into Peeta's hand, and some into her own.

They were planning to commit suicide. They were actually willing to die for each other. I could never be that brave.

"On the count of three," Katniss said. "One…"

"Two…" Peeta continued.

"Three!" They said together.

They raised the berries to their mouths, but I saw their faces begin to blur_. What's going on?_ I thought. Claudius Templesmith's voice began to boom out again, but his words were slurring. Everything was sliding in and out of focus. I felt like I had been stung by a trackerjacker. The next thing I knew, my eyelids were growing heavy. _But I wasn't tired._

Then I was sound asleep.

"_Don't try anything stupid, you silly girl," Snow said, his face rippling. "You will pay for it, and you will pay for it good. You don't even know how much power I really have."_

_Spooked out, I began to run away from him._

_I was in a hotel, and I chose a random hallway to run down, trying to find an exit._

_I ran into a man's bare chest._

"_Finnick?!" I said, surprised. He was only wearing boxer shorts._

"_Get out of here, Val!" He said. He looked scared. Finnick shouldn't look like this. I glanced behind him and saw a bunch of faces peering out of a hotel room. Women's faces, in his hotel room._

_Horrified, I began to sprint away. I ran outside, into District 4. I was on a boat, in the water._

_Kenn was there._

"_Win!" He said to me, "Win the Games! Please! And you'll have to kill Adrielle!"_

"_No!" I shouted, pushing him into the water._

_5 sharks surrounded him, and began to tear at his flesh. He was screaming for help._

_I couldn't save him, and he knew it. As he was pulled underwater, I broke down and began to sob._

"_Val, my gal?" My dad said, kneeling down next to me, "Don't listen to any of them. Do what you think is right. Don't let them use you."_

_I nodded, and he flew away, over to the dock._

"_He's right, you know," said a voice behind me._

"_Lotus?!" I said, turning around in surprise._

"_Yes, it's me. Don't let them use you Val," she said, before melting into a pool of purple, the same color as her eyes._

_I looked into the pool and saw Kieran pointing to a strange, 5 pointed plant._

"_This is called Gerweed," she said, in a matter of fact tone. "It'll make your heart stop dead for 2 minutes! Then you'll wake up and go on living your life like nothing happened! The best part is nobody knows that you ate it. They can't tell, until you sit up. Then your face turns yellow for a few minutes."_

_She giggled and walked away, her black hair swishing from side to side…_


	17. Chapter 15 Adrielle's POV

**Chapter 15 – ****Adrielle's POV**

"Hey, wake up Adrielle," someone said.

"What?" I asked, trying to see who was in front of me.

"It's Finnick." He said.

_Oh, no. Oh, no. It's Finnick. I slept on the couch last night_, I remembered. _Vala and I were watching the Games. My hair was probably in a rats nest, and I probably looked horrible_. I had to laugh silently at that.

"Oh. Yeah. Okay. Thanks for waking me up." I said, sitting up.

"Sure. But what are you guys doing here?" Finnick asked.

"Vala and I snuck in here last night to watch the Reapings. She woke me up because she couldn't sleep." I said. "Don't wake her up. She's a heavy sleeper." I continued.

"Ah, okay. Why didn't you guys go back to your rooms?" Finnick asked.

"We were really sleepy." I said.

"Did you guys do anything else besides watch the Reapings?" He asked.

"Yeah. We watched the 74th Hunger Games. The Katniss girl was really good. She managed to win and save Peeta." I said.

"Yeah. I know Katniss; we were in the last Quarter Quell together." He said, sadly.

"Oh. What happened?" I asked, recognizing the sad tone in his voice. "Wait. Hold onto that thought. I need to get ready for breakfast. I'm going to be real fast. Kay?" I said, running out of the room.

I came back in, "Finnick? Can you wake up Vala for me?" I asked him. "Thanks!" I continued, smiling.

_The thought of Vala freaking out about Finnick seeing her as she just woke up popped into my mind. Hah. Her face would be so priceless. _

I ran as fast as I can into my room. I paused to look at clothes in my closet. _We would be arriving in the Capitol today,_ I remembered. I needed to pick something nice, and over the top. But nothing is over the top in the Capitol. I picked out another dress. It had the colors of blue, green, and gold. It was strapless and fluffy. It was nice and over the top, for me. _Perfect_.

I grabbed a pair of light blue heels the same shade of the dress. I put it near the door do I wouldn't forget to wear them. It was tall enough so I can run in them, about 4 inches tall. I loved wearing heels, it make me feel taller.

I showered, brushed my hair and teeth, and changed quickly. I put on my necklace and the heels. I looked at myself in the mirror placed in the closet. The dress with the heels looked beautiful. It was almost as beautiful as my reaping dress. _Almost._

I felt like I will dominate every room I walk in today. _Including the Capitol._ I wish I could wear my reaping dress again. But the Capitol already has seen it on the recaps. I don't want to let them see me in it again.

I snapped back into reality when I remembered Vala and Finnick waiting for me in the living room. _Finnick._ I grabbed my Reaping dress as I ran out of my room. I ran into the living room and find Vala talking about the Games we watched last night.

"Hey! I'm back," I said, sitting on the couch.

"Where were you?" Vala asked, very much irritated.

"Finnick woke me up a couple minutes ago. I went to my room and got ready for breakfast." I said.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Vala asked, still irritated.

"Oh. Well, I had Finnick wake you up." I said, sweetly.

She gave me one of her stares. It was as sharp as a knife and said, _I'll get you back for this_.

"Don't worry twin. You don't need to." I whispered in her ear, playfully. "So! Finnick, what happened during the Quarter Quell?" I asked.

"Yeah. Katniss and I were in it together." Finnick said, sadly.

"Cool! Was Peeta in it too?" Vala asked, not noticing the sad tone in his voice.

"Yeah. Well, towards the end of the Games, we got rescued by hovercrafts. In the hovercrafts were our friends, Haymitch and Effie. They rescued me, Katniss, and Johanna. They didn't get a chance to save Peeta because he was separated from us." Finnick said.

_What?! No Peeta? Did he die?_ I thought, but I didn't ask aloud because I didn't want to interrupt Finnick.

"We had this plan to get rescued from the arena and start a rebellion. We were tired from getting controlled by President Snow. We wanted to stop the Hunger Games. Katniss was our leader. We called her the Mockingjay." Finnick said. "But unfortunately, we didn't succeed. President Snow bombed District 12, and destroyed it. As a punishment for Katniss and Peeta." Finnick continued.

_That's sad. If they succeeded, President Snow wouldn't be of president now. And we wouldn't have the Games now. I would be living happily_.

"He also killed Katniss's and Peeta's parents and siblings. And Snow killed Gale, Katniss's friend." Finnick said.

_Snow killed Prim,_ I thought. _He's so evil_.

"He couldn't punish Johanna because he had no one she loved left." Finnick continued.

"What about you?" Vala asked, curiously.

Finnick had a sad look on his face. "Snow sold my body." Finnick said, even sadder.

_Poor Finnick_, I thought.

"Oh." Vala said, embarrassed.

"Finnick, you don't have to continue." I said, quietly.

"No, I want to. Don't mind the last part I said," he said. "Snow made us rebuild District 12 so we could continue the Games. That's what it is now. It was like nothing ever happened. No one is even allowed to talking about the rebellion." Finnick said, half whispering.

"Oh. Maybe we could start another one." I said. "Maybe we can kill Snow too." I said, whispering this time.

"No. I don't think so. Snow's going to kill everyone you love." Finnick said.

"They kinda already have." Vala said, sadly.

"How?"

"Can I tell him?" I asked Vala, looking over to her. She was looking down at the ground.

"Yeah. Sure." She said, her voice quavering a little.

"Her dad won the Games, he tricked the Gamemakers. A few weeks later after he came home, he got killed…by Snow. They said it was an accident. But we all knew it wasn't. From then on, Snow has been punishing Vala's family. Everyone in Vala's family had been picked to go into the Games. It's now Vala's turn." I said.

Finnick stayed silent and continued listening.

"Me being picked wasn't a mistake either. Snow knew how close we were so he picked me too…" I said, trailing off.

Finnick stayed silent for a couple minutes, and then said something. "Snow could do worse than that if you tried to do another rebellion."

"We know. But we both want to win. We were thinking about doing the same thing Katniss and Peeta did." I said.

"There only can be one victor." Finnick said.

"Can't we try?" Vala said, speaking up.

"I don't know. Again, Snow could do the same thing he did to Katniss and Peeta." Finnick repeated.

"There has to be some way," Vala said.

I stayed silent; I was trying to form a plan.

_Maybe one of the other members from the rebellion can kill Snow before the Games start._ _If that can't happen, we'll do what Katniss and Peeta did. But as Finnick said, we'll get punished. If we can't do that either, then I'll win the Games. But then Vala would have to die. I wouldn't like that, but I guess I can try to kill Snow and get back at him for Vala. It was practically his fault for 23 kids dying in the arena every day_.

All kinds of plans formed in my mind, but none of them seemed good. It either included Vala dying and me winning. Or, us winning and getting punished after.

Before I can continue on with my thoughts, Hermia barged into the room.

"I have been looking for you three for the past half hour! Breakfast started 15 minutes ago!" Hermia screeched. "If you three are late again, we will not wait for you!" She warned us.

"We were here all night Hermia. Vala and I slept here," I said. "Except Finnick, he found us here in the morning."

"Why-" Hermia started to say, but Finnick cut him off.

"You said breakfast started 15 minutes ago. Shouldn't we start heading over there?" Finnick asked Hermia.

"I guess we should," Hermia said. She walked off into the direction of the dining room. We followed her without a word.

Before we entered, Hermia faced Vala. "Vala dear, you need to clean up before you eat. You need to look presentable." She said.

Vala raised her eyebrow, and then walked off to get ready.

"Wow, I thought she was going to have another argument with Hermia." I said, once Hermia and Vala were out of earshot.

Finnick laughed, "I thought so too. I don't think they're ever going to get along." He said, walking into the dining room. I followed him in.


	18. Chapter 16 Vala's POV

**Chapter 16 – Vala's POV**

The door opened up quietly. I saw Finnick walk into the room and I quickly shut my eyes.

Good. He didn't see me.

I had been drifting in and out of sleep last night, with weird dreams. The first one had been the weirdest. In some, Kenn, Adria, and Adrielle had turned into mutts and were chasing me around the Arena, Adrielle's color changing eyes flashing in the dark. In others, I had seen Rue killed in any way imaginable. I had been awake for the last half an hour, after waking up suddenly right before Marvel speared me in the stomach, just like he had done to Rue.

Finnick walked over to Adrielle.

"Hey. Wake up Adrielle," he said softly, shaking her awake.

"What?" she said, half asleep.

"It's Finnick," He said.

My lips formed into a smile, imagining how freaked out Adrielle must be right now. Finnick couldn't see my face, for my back was turned towards him.

"Oh. Yeah. Okay," Adrielle said, squeaking a little, "Thanks for waking me up," she said, sitting up.

"Sure. But what are you guys doing here?" Finnick asked.

"Vala and I snuck in here last night to watch the Reapings. She woke me up because she couldn't sleep. Don't wake her up yet, she's a heavy sleeper," Adrielle replied.

I smirked. I am a very heavy sleeper, just not when my dreams involve the Hunger Games.

"Ah. Okay. Why didn't you guys go back to you rooms?" Finnick asked.

"We were really sleepy," Adrielle said.

"Did you guys do anything else besides watch the Reapings?"

"Yeah. We watched the 74th Hunger Games. The Katniss girl was really good. She managed to win and save Peeta."

"Yeah. I know Katniss; we were in the last Quarter Quell together."

"Oh. What happened? Wait. Hold on that thought. I need to get ready for breakfast. I'm going to be real fast. Okay?"

Adrielle ran out of the room, probably to get "presentable". Then she came back in.

"Finnick? Can you wake Vala up for me?" She asked him sweetly. "Thanks!"

She ran out of the room, giggling a little bit.

_Oh no you don't_, I thought. _I'm going to get back at you for this._

Finnick walked over to me. I quickly shut my eyes. As I felt him lean over, to shake me awake, I shouted, **"BOO!"**

I opened my eyes, and found Finnick lying on the floor, with a scared look on his face. I began to crack up. He laughed with me.

"Jeez, Val," he said, "You were supposed to be asleep!"

"Yeah," I said, "I know. Adrielle didn't know I was awake either. Speaking of that…let's pretend that you _did_ wake me up. Then I'll have a 'reason' to get back at her."

Finnick laughed, but then stopped, looking confused.

"Why would you need to get back at her for having her let me wake you up?" he asked.

_Oops_. Why did I have to say that?

"No reason, I just…hate being woken up by people," I lied.

I actually _have_ to be woken up by a person. I just sleep through alarm clocks.

"Oh, okay," Finnick replied, buying my lie. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Kind of. It was weird…towards the end of the Games on TV, I felt myself being dragged asleep, almost like somebody forced me to fall asleep. I wasn't even tired. Then I had these really weird dreams," I said.

"Really?"Finnick said, very alarmed. "Did it feel like Tracker Jackers stung you? That hallucinating feeling?"

"Yea, but why-"

"Hey! I'm back!" Adrielle said, running into the room. She sat down next to me on the couch.

_Talk to me later, _I mouthed to Finnick.

He nodded.

"Where were you?" I asked Adrielle angrily, trying to distract her from the silent conversation that was going on.

"Finnick woke me up a couple of minutes ago. I went to my room and got ready for breakfast," she said.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, pretending that Finnick had waked me up.

"Oh, well I had Finnick wake you up," She replied, sweetly.

I gave her my evilest glare, the one I had been using on Kenn for years. The way I stared at her clearly said, _I'll get you back._

"Don't worry twin. You don't need to," Adrielle whispered into my ear.

_Good. She believed me._

I couldn't help the smirk that played over my lips as Adrielle turned away from me.

"So! Finnick, what happened during the Quarter Quell?" Adrielle asked Finnick.

Oh right, I had forgotten they were talking about that. Poor Finnick, he was caught up in so many conversations at the moment.

"Katniss and I were in it together," Finnick said.

"Cool!" I said. "Was Peeta in it too?"

Finnick looked upset_. I shouldn't have said anything_, I thought.

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, towards the end of the Games, we got rescued by hovercrafts. In the hovercrafts were our friends, Haymitch and Effie. They rescued me, Katniss, and Johanna. They didn't get a chance to save Peeta because he was separated from us."

I inhaled sharply_. Had Peeta died? No…he couldn't have. Blaise wouldn't have been alive otherwise…Peeta must've escaped somehow._

"We had this plan to get rescued from the arena and start a rebellion. We were tired of getting controlled by President Snow. We wanted to stop the Hunger Games. Katniss was our leader. We called her the Mockingjay. But, unfortunately, we didn't succeed. President Snow bombed District 12, and destroyed it, as a punishment for Katniss and Peeta." Finnick continued.

I felt terrible. Katniss and Peeta's home was destroyed, just because they were trying to stop the Hunger Games. I never realized how awful Snow really was to us.

"He also killed Katniss's and Peeta's parents and siblings. Snow killed Gale too, Katniss's friend." Finnick said.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like without Kenn and my mom. People could do more terrible things than I imagined to each other. What else had Snow done to punish everyone else though? Knowing him, he wouldn't just punish Katniss and Peeta and be done with it.

"He couldn't punish Johanna because he had no one she loved left." Finnick continued, answering my question.

Only one last thing was bothering me though.

"What about you?" I asked Finnick.

"Snow sold my body," Finnick said, sadly.

"Oh," I said, very embarrassed.

I remembered my dream last night, the one with the hotel. Had my dream been more realistic than I thought it was at the time? I still felt really awkward about asking Finnick about his punishment though. Shouldn't I have already realized what it was?

"Finnick, you don't have to continue," Adrielle said quietly.

"No, I want to. Don't mind the last part I said," he said. "Snow made us rebuild District 12 so we could continue the Games. That's what it is now. It was like nothing ever happened. No one is even allowed to talk about the rebellion," Finnick said, half whispering.

"Oh. Maybe we could start another one." Adrielle said. "Maybe we can kill Snow too." She repeated, whispering this time.

"No. I don't think so. Snow's going to kill everyone you love." Finnick said.

"They kind of already have," I said quietly.

"How?" Finnick asked.

"Can I tell him?" Adrielle asked me.

"Yeah. Sure," I mumbled, staring out the ground.

"Her dad won the Games, he tricked the Gamemakers. A few weeks later after he came home, he got killed…by Snow. They said it was an accident, but we all knew it wasn't. From then on, Snow has been punishing Vala's family. Everyone in Vala's family had been picked to go into the Games. Now it's Vala's turn." Adrielle said.

I could feel my cheeks burning up as Adrielle reached the part that was the most embarrassing for me.

"I being picked wasn't a mistake either. Snow knew how close we were so he picked me too…" Adrielle trailed off.

Finnick was quiet for a couple of minutes. I could tell he was thinking, by the way he wrinkled his forehead. Finally Finnick spoke.

"Snow could do worse than that if you tried to start another rebellion," he said.

"We know," Adrielle said, speaking for me. "But we both want to win. We were thinking about doing the same thing Katniss and Peeta did."

"There can only be one victor."

"Can't we try, at least?" I asked, getting irritated.

"I don't know. Again, Snow could do the same thing he did to Katniss and Peeta."

"There has to be some way."

We all fell silent, each of us formulating different plans in our minds.

_If it gets down to just me and Adrielle, I should just kill both of us. I don't want either of us to become some Capitol toy, _said one side of my brain. _No! _The other, louder, side shouted. _We should both win. We should start a rebellion, and give Snow a taste of his own medicine._

My thoughts were interrupted as Hermia barged into the room.

"I have been looking for you three for the past half hour!" She screeched, her powder blue wig slipping off of her head slightly. "Breakfast started 15 minutes ago! If you three are late again, we will not wait for you!"

"We were here all night, Hermia. Val and I slept here," Adrielle said, soothingly. "Except Finnick, he found us here in the morning."

"Why-" Hermia started to say, but Finnick cut her off.

"You said breakfast started 15 minutes ago. Shouldn't we be heading over there?" Finnick asked Hermia.

"I guess we should," Hermia huffed, and stalked out of the room.

We all followed her without a word, stopping right outside the dining room.

Hermia straightened her wig, tensed her shoulders, and spun around to face me. I saw her purse her lips, suppressing what I'm guessing was probably a yell. I took a deep breath and waited for the storm to come.

"Vala dear, you need to clean up before you eat. You need to look presentable," was all she said.

I raised an eyebrow, and turned around to face Adrielle and Finnick, who had equally stunned expressions on their faces.

_Wow, she improved_, I mouthed to them, before walking off down the hallway to get changed.

I heard Adrielle whisper something to Finnick, making him laugh. Then I heard the patter of footsteps and the closing of the dining room door.

I hummed absent mindedly as I walked towards my room, thinking about what I was going to wear. Should I be bold again, by wearing a dress that wasn't ocean colored? Or should I just put on the first thing I saw? I decided to be bold; it was more fun that way.

I was so caught up in thinking about my hair, that I didn't notice that the sharp points by my door were gone. I didn't notice that the holes in the wall had been patched up.

As I walked into my room, I didn't notice that the scissors had been set out on my bed, spelling out a message.

What I did notice was the fresh portrait of President Snow hanging on my wall, scissor-less.


	19. Chapter 17 Adrielle's POV Breakfast

**Chapter 17 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I found Annie sitting down with a worried look on her face. She looked up, "Fin! Where were you? You worried me so much!"

"I-" Finnick tried to say.

"He was helping Hermia look for us. He found us in the living room." I said reassuringly. I didn't want Annie to get mad at Finnick.

"What took you guys so long?" Annie asked. By the tone of her voice, I could tell she was mad now.

"I asked Finnick more about sponsors. Since were arriving at the Capitol today, I wanted to be more ready," I said. I tried to be convincing, by the relieved look on Annie's face, I did well.

I was also relieved; people said that Annie was mentally unstable. I didn't want her to get mad at Finnick or me. I didn't know what she could do.

"Let's start eating shall we?" I said, taking a seat next to Annie.

"No!" Hermia said sharply. "We need to wait for Vala," she continued.

We sat in silence while waiting for Vala.

"Where is that girl?" Hermia complained after a couple of minutes. She walked out of the room.

"Vala!" Hermia said from the hall, obviously surprised.

"I guess Hermia ran into Vala," I said. "They're going to argue again," I continued, making Finnick smile.

"What in the world? Why are you? What the? Why aren't you _dressed?_" Hermia asked, confused.

"Sorry Hermia," Vala said.

"Why did you-? Oh never mind that, just go get yourself presentable!" She ordered Vala.

"But I don't want to go back there alone! It's…it's…" Vala trailed off.

"Fine!" Hermia said, tired of Vala. "Finnick! Go back there with Vala!" Hermia yelled from the hall.

Finnick gave Annie and I an apologetic look as he got up and exited the room. I gave him a reassuring smile and mouthed, _don't get Hermia mad_. He gave me a grin.

"Okay," he said from the hall.

_Ugh, Vala is so lucky. She get's to be with Finnick. I'll have to do something about that later_, I thought.

Hermia came into the room fuming. "That girl cannot do anything right!"

"Hey, I know you guys kind of don't like each other. But, she can do things right, Hermia." I said, sternly.

Hermia sat down and glared at me. I ignored her and talked to Annie instead. "So, Annie. Did you sleep well last night?" I asked her, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah. How about you?" She asked. I noticed she had a sad tone on her voice. It was probably because Finnick was gone.

"Kind of, I slept on the couch in the living room," I said.

"Why?" She asked, the sad tone of her voice disappearing.

"Vala and I snuck of and watched the Reapings. Then when it was over, we watched the 74th Hunger Games. The one where Katniss was in," I said.

By the words _74__th__ Hunger Games_, she became sad again.

"What's wrong Annie?" I asked.

"Well, it reminded me the last Quarter Quell. The second time Finnick went into the Games. It made me so sad watching him suffer in the arena all over again." She said, sadly.

"Oh," I said in a small voice. "Don't worry Annie, he'll never go into the Games again," I continued.

"You promise?" Annie asked like someone I knew.

I nodded; _hopefully I can keep that promise_.

_Adria_, I thought. _That's who that someone was. I remembered the promise she told me to keep. Try to win the Games and come back home. I knew I was going to keep that promise._

I came back from my thoughts when Vala and Finnick came into the room.

"What's for breakfast?" Vala asked, taking a seat next to me.

Right after Vala sat down, the Avoxes came in with our breakfast.

"Waffles," Hermia said eyeing the plates. "Waffles with-"

They placed the food in front of me. We were having waffles topped with red fruit. I recognized them as strawberries.

"Ooh!" I squealed. "Strawberries!"

"As I was saying," Hermia continued, looking at me with an annoyed expression, "Waffles with strawberries."

I ignored her, too busy separating my strawberries from the waffles, wanting to eat them separately.

At home, we always had stocks of strawberries in our fridge. Everyone knew I loved them. I pretty much got to eat whatever I wanted to. Except some types of Capitol food, we weren't allowed to have those.

After a few bites, I tried to start a conversation.

"What time are we arriving at the Capitol?" I asked Hermia.

"We are to eat lunch here on the train. Then we will arrive at the Capitol. You will meet your Prep Team and stylist right after we arrive. They will help you get ready for the tribute parade," Hermia said.

"Cool, were going to see our hotel right after the parade, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Hermia said answering my question.

We continued eating in silence after that. After breakfast, Finnick talked to us about sponsors.

"When we arrive at the Capitol, continue your smiling and waving. Don't do anything to upset them. Blow kisses and anything and everything else to make people like you," Finnick said.

I nodded, so did Vala.

_That was easy; I've been doing that since I got reaped. I hope I don't get frustrated or get hot tempered when we arrive_, I thought.

"What about training?" I asked.

"We'll discuss that later, at dinner," Finnick said.

"What are we supposed to do while we wait to arrive at the Capitol?" Vala asked.

"Hang around and wait," Finnick said simply.

Vala and I spent time watching TV and staying in my room.

"Hey Val," I said, lying down on my bed. "What-"

The room dimmed, I glanced at the window. "Were near the Capitol. Were in the tunnel right now," I said.

Hermia ran into the room, "Girls! Were near the Capitol!" She said, excitedly. "Come on! Come on!" Hermia continued.

She took our wrists and pulled us out of the room. Vala made circular motions around her temples, as if saying, _she's crazy_. I gave her a grin in reply.

When we made it into the living room, Hermia let go of our wrists. She had a death grip; she left red marks on my wrist.

"Ow, Hermia," I said.

"Sorry hon!" She said in a high voice. "Were nearing the Capitol!" She squealed again.

The living room lit up, outside, hundreds of Capitol people were screaming and waving. They were pushing each other to get a better view of us.

I walked to the window and waved at everyone. They had really weird outfits on. Some had designs that were absolutely crazy. They had designs of lobsters, shells, rainbows, unicorns, and other designs I couldn't make out. Other people had random colored skin. Pink, blue, orange, green, lavender. One even had a rainbow face. I laughed in joy, they're _incredible_.

Vala joined my side, waving a blowing kisses. "Look at them!" She said, "Aren't they amazing?"

Annie joined us, probably wanting to see the Capitol residents. I looked at Finnick, waving him over. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped between Annie and me.

Vala and I kept waving and blowing kisses. Minutes later, the train stopped. I had to grab onto something to keep me from falling, squeezing hard. Apparently that something was Finnick's arm.

I took my hand off his arm, seeing that I left white marks. "Sorry. I hurt you didn't I?" I asked.

"It's okay," he said giving me a reassuring smile. I nodded and looked at Vala who was still holding my arm in a death grip.

I looked at her questioningly.

"What?" She asked me.

I gestured to my arm.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized.

I rubbed my arm, trying to rub off the white marks Vala gave me. Just like the ones I gave Finnick. It hurt; I know how he feels now.

Vala walked away, to help Annie get up from the floor. _Oh, I thought she grabbed Finnick too_.

At the thought of Finnick I felt like I should apologize to him again, because I knew how he felt. I turned to talk to him.

"Hey, sorry about gripping your arm again. I know what it feels like," I said showing him the marks Vala have me.

He laughed, "It's nothing."

I glanced at the marks I gave him, they were turning purple now.

"I hope that doesn't bruise," I said pointing out his arm.

He rubbed it, "I'm pretty sure it won't. And it won't matter, I had worse injuries."

I gave him a small smile.

"We are about to get off the train. There are going to be cameras waiting for you when the door opens, so have big, big smiles!" Hermia told us.

Seconds later, the door opened, sure enough, there were cameras. _Hundreds of them_.


	20. Chapter 18 Vala's POV Breakfast

**Chapter 18 – ****Vala's POV**

Snow's ugly face was staring at me. His lips looked puffier and bloodier than usual. Maybe he'd had another dose of the poison he used to win the election with. Wait, I shouldn't be talking about that. That's yet _another_thing we're not allowed to speak of.

All I could do was stare. How had the portrait been changed overnight? Who had done it? The idea that the person who did it was probably still on the train, sent shivers down my spine. I had to sit down before I fainted.

Quickly, I sat down on the bed. The scissors clinked underneath me. Wait… why were there scissors on my bed? I stood up and looked down at my bed. On top of the sheets were the scissors, still in halves, spelling the message, "We're watching you".

I couldn't take it any longer; I had to get out of that room. I sprinted down the hallway, my braid coming undone, and my red nightgown flying out behind me.

As I was about to charge into the dining room, the door came flying open and I ran into Hermia instead.

"Vala! What in the world? Why are you? What the? Why aren't you _dressed?_" she sputtered.

"Sorry Hermia," I managed to get out, as I gasped for air.

"Why did you-? Oh never mind that, just go get yourself presentable!"

"But I don't want to go back there alone! It's…it's…" I trailed off.

"Fine! Finnick, go back there with Vala!" Hermia barked to Finnick, who was still in the dining room.

"Okay," he said with a concerned look on his face.

I fast walked down the hallway, with Finnick at my heels.

"Val! Wait up! What's going on?" He shouted.

"Shh!" I said, spinning around. "Don't tell anyone about this until we figure out what's going on!"

"But what _is_ going on?" He whispered fiercely.

"Last night, I got annoyed at the portrait of President Snow that's on my wall." I began.

"Wait, there's a portrait of him in your room _too_?" he cut in.

"Yes, of course ther- wait! There's a portrait of Snow in your room?"

"Well duh, I wouldn't have said that otherwise!"

"Yeah I know, but do you know why they're in our rooms? Because I threw scissor halves at his face last night. This morning, the old portrait's gone, and there's a new one in its place!"

Finnick's face turned white. "You threw…you threw…you threw s-s-scissors at him?" He stuttered.

"Yea," I said, frowning. "What's wrong with that?"

"Snow's watching us through those portraits. I saw his eyes move last night, following Annie. He can see everything we do. And you, my friend, just got yourself a one way ticket to death."

I shivered, and replied, "Why isn't there one in Adrielle's room then?"

"There wasn't? I have no idea why, but I can tell you that there will be now."

I shivered again. "We should get going before Hermia blows a gasket," I joked, to lighten up the mood.

Finnick nodded, and we continued down the hallway to my room. We walked inside.

"Sit there while I go change in the bathroom," I told him, pointing towards the bed.

I went to my closet and rummaged around, looking for some rebellious clothing. I ended up just taking out a pair of skinny jeans and a floaty, purple, tank top. I turned around to see Finnick standing next to the bed, frozen.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"That," he whispered, pointing to the bed, where the scissor message lay.

"Oh don't worry about that, that's for me, not you. It was here before. In fact, could you destroy it for me? Not literally though."

"Sure," he said, looking a little less scared now. I heard the clinking of scissors moving behind me as I went into the bathroom to change.

_I look like a mess_, I thought as I looked into the mirror. I brushed my teeth and then splashed some water onto my face. After I brushed through my hair until it was smooth and shiny, I let my curls fall loose over my shoulders. Then I slipped in a purple headband that was the same color as the shirt I was about to put on. The shirt had spaghetti straps, and was made out of light, chiffon like material that was layered. The skinny jeans I put on were tight and very dark, almost black.

I walked back into my room, and found Finnick sitting on my bed, gazing at a picture of Annie he was holding. My eyebrows flew up as he blushed and quickly put it back in his pocket. I didn't say anything though, as I put on a pair of tennis shoes and walked out the door.

We walked down to the dining room together, wordlessly.

"Just act like nothing happened," I whispered to him, just outside the door.

He nodded, and we went inside.

I sat down next to Adrielle, and asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"Waffles," Hermia replied, as the Avoxes walked in with platefuls of waffles topped with red fruit. "Waffles with-"

"Ooh! Strawberries!"Adrielle squealed.

"As I was saying," Hermia continued, looking disgruntled, "Waffles with strawberries."

Adrielle ignored her has she began to gobble down her food. I began to eat mine too; it was really good. I'd only had strawberries a few times before, for they don't grow in District 4. The last time we had them was when Marina Folad won the 96th Hunger Games. She was from our District, and when she won, everybody in District 4 was showered with gifts of food. Of course, Adrielle always had some in her fridge; her dad was the mayor after all.

"What time are we arriving at the Capitol?" Adrielle asked Hermia, stirring me out of my reverie.

"We are to eat lunch here on the train. Then we will arrive at the Capitol. You will meet your Prep Team and stylist right after we arrive. They will help you get ready for the tribute parade," Hermia said.

"Cool, we're going to see our hotel right after the parade, right?"Adrielle said.

"Yes," said Hermia.

We fell quiet after that, and didn't speak again until breakfast was over. The Avoxes took our plates, and Finnick talked to us even more about sponsors.

"When we arrive at the Capitol, continue your smiling and waving. Don't do anything to upset them. Blow kisses and do anything and everything else to make people like you," Finnick instructed us.

Adrielle and I nodded together. Hopefully we would both be able to keep our tempers under control during that. It was hard enough just on the way to the train. Now, it could be the difference between life and death.

"What about training?" Adrielle asked.

"We'll discuss that later, at dinner," Finnick said.

"What are we supposed to do while we wait to arrive at the Capitol?" I asked. There wasn't really anything to do on this train.

"Hang around and wait," Finnick replied simply.

Adrielle and I did just that. We mainly hung out in her room (I was too scared to go back into mine still), and watched TV. Classy, right?

I was lying on Adrielle's bed, watching some stupid Home Remodeling show, when Adrielle lied down next to me suddenly.

"Hey Val," she said. "What-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as everything in the room went dark.

"We're near the Capitol. We're in the tunnel right now," she said, obviously forgetting what she was previously about to say.

A noise like one of a rhino stampede came down the hallway. I braced myself, expecting Peacekeepers or something to come barging in. Instead, it was Hermia.

"Girls! We're near the Capitol!" She said, almost falling over she was so excited. "Come on! Come on!"

She grabbed our wrists and yanked us out the door. I made a circular motion by my ear with my free hand, the international sign for, _she's crazy!_

Adrielle caught my eye and grinned. Hermia was oblivious to everything going on around her, except for the fact that the train was near the Capitol.

We somehow managed to make it to the living room, before Hermia let go of our wrists. She had a really tight grip, and had left marks on my wrist.

"Ow, Hermia," Adrielle said.

"Sorry hon!" She replied in a squealy voice, not really caring about our pain. "We're nearing the Capitol!"

I rolled my eyes. A few seconds later, the train was lit up again. Light was streaming in through the windows once again, and outside the train were hundreds of Capitol people, screaming and waving. They were all pushing against each other to get to the front. They all wanted to see us, the Tributes for this year.

Adrielle walked up to the window and waved at everyone. I came up behind her, and started to blow kisses, wave, and smile.

"Look at them!" I breathed. "Aren't they amazing?"

The Capitol people looked _weird. _First of all, they all had really weird outfits on. Some women's dresses were covered in sparkles, while others were tie-died and shimmery. Some of the men had on purple suits, with spikes that stuck out. I even spotted someone in a giraffe costume. Their clothes weren't the only things that were weird about them. Almost everybody had died their skin some crazy color, or had themselves bejeweled. Tattoos of previous winners of the Games decorated some bodies; mainly of Finnick. Everybody had died their hair too, and each person had a different hair style. I never thought it was possible for people to look so similar, yet different.

Adrielle and I continued to wave, laugh, and blow kisses. Annie came up behind us, and joined us at the window. Finnick hesitated, and then stepped between Adrielle and Annie.

A few minutes later, the train stopped. Everybody had to grab on to something to keep them from falling over. This nearest thing to me was Adrielle's arm.

As I steadied myself, I noticed a portrait of Snow across the room. Apparently one had been put in here too. It was probably because of mine and Adrielle's little escapade last night.

The portrait of Snow didn't bother me that much, except for the fact that it was Snow. What bothered me was when its eyes moved. I didn't even want to see what it was looking at, I was so freaked out at the moment. Then I noticed Adrielle staring at me.

"What?" I asked her.

She pointed towards her arm.

"Oh, sorry," I said.

I forgot that I was still holding her arm. Not only that, apparently my grip had tightened into a death grip at the sight of Snow's portrait. I felt bad for Adrielle; she'd gotten the death grip twice in one day.

I dared to sneak another look at Snow. His eyes were still pointed at the same spot, which happened to be down. I looked where he was looking, and saw Annie on the floor. I guess she hadn't gotten the chance to grab on to something before the train fell over.

"Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling down to help her up.

"Yeah," she said, a little shakily.

I gave her a small hug to make her feel better. When I looked back up at Snow, his eyes were pointed directly towards me. I shivered slightly.

"What is it?" Annie asked, noticing my shiver.

"It's…nothing," I said.

Annie said nothing, although she obviously didn't believe me. For a mentally unstable person, she could be very sharp.

"We are about to get off the train. There are going to be cameras waiting for you when the door opens, so have big, big smiles!" Hermia told us suddenly.

The doors opened, and there were millions of cameras angled our way.


	21. Note

**Note:**

Hey guys!  
ArianaWeasly and I wouldn't be able to upload that much chapters because school's starting…

_**So sorry!**_

But we'll upload some once in a while…

We're working on chapter 19 right now!  
And we promise we'll finish the story.  
But it'll take longer than we expected.  
Maybe a couple more months…

Anyways, thanks for reading our story!

PM me or ArianaWeasly if you have any suggestions for the story.


	22. Chapter 19 Adrielle's POV

**Chapter 19 – ****Adrielle's POV**

Hey guys, so…here's chapter 19! Yay! It took so long cuz I have school. And it takes forever to write a chapter now. And I have a ton of homework.

Uhm, I added like a couple of short paragraphs on chapter 15 (Adrielle's POV). It's just about Adrielle wearing heels instead of flats. Cuz in the first version she was wearing flats, and I changed it into heels. It'll make more sense when you read this chapter.

So… get reading! And thanks for staying with our story. If anyone can make an Ad for our story, it would be very appreciated. We haven't had much readers this month. So, please tell people about this story!

I'll quit bothering you so you can read the chapter!

….

The cameras started flashing; everyone was frozen, staring at the cameras. _We were finally at the camera, and I'm standing here frozen,_ I thought. _This was the Capitol, I needed sponsors. And here they are, surrounding me._ I decided to move. _They want me, and here I am._ I was the first to move, surprisingly. I flashed Vala and Finnick smile and walked out the train. I walked the way Capitol people walk in heels, strutting.

"Hello everyone! Were here!" I said when we walked out the train.

"Look over here!"

"No! Over here!"

"Smile!"

"Can we get your autograph?"

Was how the crowd greeted me.

There were hundreds of Capitol citizens. They tried to grab on me, but the security kept them at bay. Just far enough so they couldn't touch me. The crowd protested and fought against the security, but the guards were too strong.

I smiled at them apologetically and blew them more kisses.

I threw my arms up and waved. "Hi!" I said multiple times, while blowing kisses and smiling I looked in every direction, hoping the Capitol got enough pictures of me.

"What does it feel like to be a tribute? Are you scared of being killed? Are you honored to be a part of the Games?" I heard one reporter say. My smile faltered, my brain translating the words of the reporter. To me it sounded like, _Are you happy you go chosen? Do you know that you're heading to your death?_ _Are you honored to be part of our entertainment?_

_The Capitol wants entertainment. You are here to give them entertainment. They don't care about if you die. You're just a part of their Games, _my mind told me.

Something inside of me snapped._ No miss nice girl anymore, _I thought. _The Capitol wanted entertainment, I'll give them entertainment. _I decided I would play a little arrogant. _Just for them and their little Games. _

Hermia pushed me aside and walked in front of me. "Follow _me_, hon." She said, walking in front of me. I raised my eyebrows at her, then walked pushed her behind me and walked ahead of her. Just like what she did to me.

"I was here first, Hermia. Get your own spot," I hissed at her.

Hermia glared at me, I stared her down, then she reluctantly fell behind me.

The crowd went, "Oooh," then pushed harder at the security.

One managed to get past and thrust out a pen and paper at me. She had lavender fluffy hair and gold tattoos covering her one arm.

"Can you-" The guard right near me grabbed the citizen away and pushed her back into the crowd before she could finish her sentence.

"No, it's fine. I'll sign it," I said.

The guard pushed the citizen back in front of me. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Iris," she answered me in a really high squeaky voice.

"Nice name," I told her adoringly. "What do you want this to say?"

"Anything, just sign it please."

"Kay. Here, I'll put… Iris, the first Capitol citizen I met in the Capitol. Hugs and kisses, Adrielle." I gave her back the notepad. "Make sure you sponsors me, kay?" I asked her.

She nodded and said, "Oh I will. I'll tell everyone how nice and pretty you are."

"Awww, thanks." I gushed. "Now get back in the crowd. Don't want the guards to drag you away aging, do we?" I said, and then kept walking.

I glanced behind me; Hermia was walking behind me. She was waving and blowing kisses like I was. I wondered why she did this. _She wasn't a tribute. She didn't need sponsors. I guess that's just how Capitol people are._

Annie was behind Hermia, walking calmly. Vala was pulled into the crowd by Capitol citizens. Then Finnick grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out. Vala was blushing crazily. I quietly hissed, then snickered. _Vala does not know she is in the shade of an apple right now_, I thought. I laughed and then continued smiling and waving at the crowd.

A guard in front of a long black car ushered me into the vehicle.

"This will take you to the remake center where your prep team will get you ready for the chariot parade. The rest of your companions will see you when you are all done getting ready." He said in a deep voice.

I closed the door then peeked at who was driving the car. "Hi," I greeted the man. He first swallowed then hesitated to turn to me. It was like as if he was not allowed to. He reluctantly turned and nodded to me, then looked back up front and out the driver's window.

I thought about the man. I replayed the moment when he swallowed in my mind. He had difficulty. He was an Avox, I figured out. I looked at the man; he looked like a normal man, probably from District 11. _What did this man do to be punished and be turned into an Avox?_

I looked out the widow, looking at the Capitol people with cameras turned on me. I momentarily forgot that they were there. I started waving a blowing kisses again. I was about to open the window, but then I remembered the way they tried to grab on me. And how the security had to keep them at bay. _They would probably rip my face off if I opened a space big enough for a hand. _I decided not to open the window.

I spotted Hermia, and then she caught me looking and glared at me. I smiled and waved at her innocently. She walked and entered to a black car similar to mine. I saw Annie get into the same car. Then later, saw Finnick ride in the same car. While Vala rode in the last car, the one behind Effie, Annie and Finnick was riding on.

I laughed quietly to myself. Triumphant, for I don't know what reason.

I continued smile and wave until the car drove away from the crowd. Once we were far enough from them, I opened the window and waved them good bye.

"Bye! See you guys at the parade tonight!"

After I said that, I closed the window. My ears started ringing from all the silence that filled the car.

_Beeeeeeeeeeep….._

I hummed an ocean lullaby, in attempt to stop the ringing.

_The waves crash onto the sand__  
__We are safe up on the land__  
__The waters tugs at the rocks__  
__We are safe up on the docks__  
__The seaweed is green__  
__The water bright blue__  
__I love the sea, as much as I love you._

My mother would always sing that to me when I was small. It would always calm me down, just like the waters of District 4. I closed my eyes and kept humming the lullaby over and over until the car lurched to a stop.

…...

Hey guys, was the chapter too short? _Sorry._

I didn't know how they would arrive in the Remake Center.  
They didn't put it in the book. So, I couldn't describe it.

I'll start chapter 21 when Adrielle is already being prepared by her Prep Team.


	23. Chapter 20 Vala's POV

**Chapter 20 – ****Vala's POV**

It was a screaming rainbow. I didn't realize Capitol citizens could be so loud, and so colorful. If I thought it was colorful earlier, there's no way to even describe this.

Adrielle was the first to step out of the train car. She began waving, spinning around, and shouting "Hi!". I was frozen for the time being, just awed by the huge crowd. Hermia trotted out of the train next, and pushed ahead of Adrielle. I glanced at Annie, and we laughed. Hermia loved being the center of attention. What happened next surprised me. Adrielle shoved ahead of Hermia.

I stepped out next. The screaming got even louder, if that was possible. I threw my arms up, and shouted "Hi!" just like Adrielle had. I suddenly felt kind of embarrassed by my lame outfit. A tank top, jeans, and sneakers were nothing compared to the crowd. They didn't seem to care though, as they continued to scream and reach out towards me.

I watched Adrielle autograph a piece of paper for a girl.

"Can I have your autograph?" A boy with a pointy nose, and spiky purple hair asked. I smiled, and scrawled my name onto a slip of paper for him. As I bent down to hand it to him, the crowd grabbed me, and dragged me down with them. Suddenly, I was glad that I was wearing sneakers, since I could grip onto the side of the runway with them. Slowly though, inch by inch, I was being pulled down into the sea of perfume and color. I began to gag on the stench as I slipped off of the platform.

A strong pair of hands gripped my waist, and pulled me pack onto the runway. I turned around and saw Finnick standing there.

"Thanks. You just had to grab me by the waist, didn't you?" I joked, although blushing at the same time.

"Yes, if you didn't want your clothes to be ripped off," he replied, dead serious.

I could tell by his face that he had experienced that before. Embarrassed, I just repeated "Thanks," and continued down the runway.

I was careful to stay in the middle, as I made my way to the cars. Adrielle had already gotten into one and taken off. I blew one last kiss to the crowd before allowing Hermia to usher me into the car.

"Adrielle already left in her car," she said, poking her head in the window. "This will take you to the remake center, where your prep team will get you ready for the parade. You'll meet me, Adrielle, Finnick, and Annie there once you're ready."

"Thanks Hermia," I said to her.

"No problem hon. You might want to close your window." She advised, before walking away.

"Wait, what?" I said, as the car started up. Slowly, we began to move.

I knew what Hermia meant the second the first hand came into the window. Screaming, I slapped it away, and closed the window as fast as I could. Now all of the hands were pressing against the windows, making me feel claustrophobic. I was glad I closed my window when I did.

"They are _crazy_," I commented to my driver.

He didn't answer, so I assumed it was an Avox.

"Sorry," I muttered.

He replied with a quick, sympathetic look that I could see in the review mirror. Slowly, the screaming died away as we got farther and farther away from the crowd. The silence that followed was deafening. Forgetting momentarily that the driver was an Avox, I tried to strike up a conversation.

"So where do you-I mean could you- I mean could you turn the radio on please?" I spluttered, trying to turn what I was saying into a command. He nodded, and pressed a knob that was near the steering wheel. He flipped through the stations until I found one that I liked.

"This is good, thank you," I said, leaning back onto the leather headrest and listening to the music that was coming out of the radio. It was a slow, sad song thatwe played at funerals back in District 4.

_The waves crash onto our boat_

_The ocean roars, we can't stay afloat_

_The water opens up and swallows_

_The boat upon which we follow_

_The waves are coming for us now_

_They crash and eat up our boats bow_

_Into the water we start to sink_

_Our blood taints the water pink_

_"Don't worry now; I'll stay with you forever"_

_I whisper to you as we take our last breath - ever._

I find myself wiping tears off of my cheeks as the song ends. It reminds me so much of home. About 3 minutes after the song ended, we pulled up in front of a huge field. The driver got out of the car and opened up my door for me. I stepped out, and thanked him. I looked around, confused. I didn't see a building anywhere. Where were we?


	24. Chapter 21 Adrielle's POV Remake Center

…

_Okay, here's the jump I was talking about…_

_-Kat_

…

**Chapter 21 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I lay on the silver table in the center of the room with a white thin robe on. With nothing under. _It annoyed me; I wasn't really that comfortable with people. _

I looked around; the walls were a shade of light gray. There was a tub off to the left side of the room. I _am not going to take a bath in front of them,_ I thought. The wall behind me was completely covered in mirror. Near the wall was a table filled with makeup and hair supplies.

I had just met my Prep Team. Accalia, Galla, and Andromeda.

"Let's get started," a light purple tinted lady with spiky pink hair, Galla, said.

They had been preparing to wax all my leg hair off. I thought I hadn't had any at all. But they apparently Capitol people had perfect eye sight and they could see the 'very bits of tiny hair' on my leg.

They made me stand up, and then they applied warm, clear liquid on my legs. Then once all of my legs were covered, they waited minutes before they wiped it off.

"When we wipe it off, all your leg hair will be gone," Galla said.

"Yes, like magic!" Accalia added in her natural high squeaky voice. Accalia was a thin, perky, woman. She had curly turquoise colored hair that was up to her hips. She had on a loose fitting green dress and sky blue tinted skin. She kind of looked like a mermaid.

I nodded, "It doesn't hurt," I said astonished.

"Of course it doesn't," Andromeda said. Andromeda was a lady with flowing blond curly hair that was dyed with bright streaks of a color, pink. She was covered in pink from head to toe. Her dress was tight fitting, covered with pink sparkles. Her shoes were 5 inch heels that matched her dress. "They made it better you know. Years ag-"

"I wanna tell the story!" Accalia exclaimed. I laughed to myself, _these Capitol people are adorable._ Andromeda motioned her to carry on. "Okay. Years ago, they had to put strips of fabric on your legs. Then quickly rip it off!"

"Ouch," I said grimacing.

"I know!" Accalia exclaimed. "I feel sorry for those poor people who when through that." She continued, light sympathy filling her voice.

"Time to wipe it off!" said Galla. Galla quickly grabbed a hose and sprayed lukewarm water on my legs. Andromeda and Accalia grabbed towels and wiped my warm legs.

"All done!" Accalia squeaked.

"We need to check the rest of her," Andromeda reminded Accalia.

_Immediately, I knew what was she was going to make me do. Take of the robe. _

"Oh yes. May you please take off your robe?" She asked me nicely.

I stood there and thought about it for a minute. _If I don't follow her orders, it's going to get ugly. They'd end up winning anyway. Plus, they're going to make me prettier and that's going to help me get more sponsors. _

"Well," Andromeda said impatiently.

I first glared at her then reluctantly took the robe off. They circled me like hawks. They're perfect Capitol-made eyes taking every inch in my body. I immediately felt self conscious.

_What if they find more mistakes?_ I wondered. Then I realized my mistake and laughed to myself. _I never cared about any of these things before. Why should I now? _The other part of my brain answered the question I gave to myself. _Because you are a tribute. Now participating in the Games._

"All good!" Accalia exclaimed before I could continue on my thoughts. She ran to the tub and filled it with water. "Time to bathe! Get in the tub!" Accalia said, motioning the tub.

I walked and got in it. I sat in the tub, swishing the water around. Andromeda grabbed the shower head and blasted me with cold water. In surprise, I quickly jumped out of the tub and stood off to the side, clutching my shivering body.

I shrieked, "What was that for?"

Andromeda laughed in joy, "Sorry."

By the tone of her voice, I could she wasn't really sorry.

"Get back in the tub," said Andromeda.

I went back into the tub and splashed water on Andromeda. She shrieked in a very high pitched voice. High enough to break glass.

"Sorry," I said, making clear that I wasn't sorry at all.

Andromeda looked like she was going to strangle me then splashed some water back at me. I splashed some back at her, she did the same. I laughed, we started splashing each other.

"Stop! You're making a mess!" Galla interrupted.

I looked at Andromeda, she was soaking wet. So was I, I looked like I'd taken a bath already. Andromeda and I laughed at the same time.

"Go change," Galla ordered.

Andromeda exited the room without a word, still giggling.

"We should get on task, were behind." Galla said, after Andromeda left. Accalia grabbed a stool and put it near the tub.

I repositioned myself in the tub, putting my head in Accalia's hands. She began rubbing some strawberry scented shampoo into my hair. Galla took 5 pink little balls form a cabinet off to the side of the room and dropped them in the tub. They started exploding, making the water in the tub vibrate and churn.

"What were those?" I asked, swishing the pink colored water in the tub.

"Water bombs, they make the water smell good," replied Galla.

"And make the water turn pink!" Accalia added, massaging my hair.

The door opened, I glanced to see who it was. It was Andromeda. She was now wearing a white knee length dress. The dress was covered in gold little sparkles, whenever she moved the light would bounce of the sparkles and the dress would glow. She walked in and took Accalia's job of washing my hair.

I looked up at her, she was upside down. I noticed her hair wasn't dyed with pink streaks anymore. "What happened to your hair?" I asked.

"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?" She asked, freaking out.

I laughed lightly, "No. What happened to the pink streaks?"

"Oh," she grinned. "I washed them out."

"Ooh, can you put some in my hair?" I asked, wanting the highlights in my hair. "I want it to be blue."

They all laughed, "We have something else planned," said Galla.

They finished up washing my hair and dried me off. I put my robe happily back on. I was happy I was covered again.

"Just put your fingers here," Accalia said, demonstrating by putting her hands in a scanner attached to the wall. "And the scanner will brush out and untangle your hair."

"And it will get rid of any bruises you have. And make your skin very very smooth," Andromeda added.

I did as Accalia told. I felt currents through my skin. I looked at the little scar I had on my elbow, it disappeared in seconds. I felt a little sad; that scar reminded me of one of my first archery lessons. I scratched myself with an arrow accidentally.

Then I felt tingling in my head. My hair began untangling itself instantly. It took out the knots, and made it look and feel soft, silky, and naturally curly.

I smoothed my hands down my hair in amusement. Then I glanced at the scanner and at my prep team. They looked amused at me.

"What?" I asked innocently.

Accalia giggled and steered me to the mirror wall. I sat on a comfy chair placed in front of the mirror. Accalia turned me around and studied my face. Galla and Andromeda joined in.

After seconds of silence they all said, "Always start with beauty base zero." Then they grabbed various supplies and started applying makeup on my face. After minutes of working, they began babbling about the Capitol. Talking about who's who, parties, the trends, the food, and the Games this year. The Quarter Quell.

"Don't you think the Games are going to be absolutely grand this year?" Galla asked.

"Yes, I wonder what the arena is going to look like…" said Andromeda.

"It's probably going to be something horrific," Accalia said scared. "But something amusing!" She added now, more excited.

"Uhm, excuse me." I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh, sorry." Galla and Andromeda said.

"Yeah, sorry. I hope it's not going to be too horrible," Accalia said. "But, it'll be horrible because we need amusement," she added.

Andromeda glared at her. "Sorry," Accalia apologized, more sincere this time.

I gave her a smile, a reassuring one that said, _thanks for understanding._ _But I didn't mean the smile, I knew Capitol people wouldn't get anything. They didn't know what it was like to be a tribute for the Games. _

They continued the 'beauty base zero' process in silence. I closed my eyes and thought about the Games. About how I would win. And maybe Vala too.

_I had to win. I knew I would win. I hadn't been training a bow and arrow for nothing. Secretly, the reason had learned the weapon is because I knew I would be in the Games someday. I felt it._

My opened my eyes, I realized that my prep team were not brushing and applying stuff to my face anymore.

"Are we done?" I asked. The minute I finished the thought, I knew the answer. _No. Nothing is ever that simple._

"No, silly. Were done with the basics though," said Galla. "I'll start applying the makeup." Galla called to Andromeda and Accalia who were busy looking for supplies.

Galla grabbed and selected various types of makeup and began applying it onto my face.

"What are you going to do with my face?" I asked out of curiosity.

"That's a surprise," all three of them said in unison.

I stayed silent in reply. "Is everything a surprise?" I asked Galla quietly, minutes later.

"Yes," Galla replied simply. Not saying anything after. I took that as a sign to stop talking and to not disturb any of them.

Galla applied different shades of blues, greens, and purples to my face. Then she took a sharp object that looked like a pencil and placed it near my eyes.

"Whoa," I said leaning away. "Are you going to poke my eyes out of something?"

Galla shook her head in response and turned my face to her. "Open your eyes wide," she said.

I obeyed; I felt her outline my eyes back and forth, probably making it darker every time. Then she took another pencil like object, and then applied it to the same spot. Outlining my eyes again, but she applied it lighter this time.

"Done, close your eyes now." Galla said, after putting back the pencils.

I did what she told again, I now felt a soft brush on my eyelid. Sometimes dabbing, sometimes rubbing back and forth. I found the motions very soothing. I took granted of the time and thought of District 4. I I thought about the time Vala and I found starfish in District 4, back when we were 6 years old.

"_Pick it up!" I told Vala excitedly. _

_She glanced at the star shaped object on the sand. _

"_It's not going to bite you! Look I have one in my hand." I told her, holding the thing up. "It's so cute." _

_Vala picked up the object, shrieked, and then dropped it. "Ewwww! It's so squishy!" She said in disgust, and then poked the poor thing now lying on the sand. _

_I laughed, "Squishy, Squishy. Squish." I sang over and over, poking and bouncing the object in my hand. "I'm going to name you star," I said proudly. "Look at it," I said nudging the star to Vala. _

_Vala gave the star another try and tried not to drop it again. She took deep breaths and slowly ran her fingers over it. "It's pretty," she said. _

"_I told you," I said cheerily. "It's not hurting you is it?" _

"_No. I'm naming mine Pearl," she said. _

"_It's not a pearl. Why are you naming it Pearl?" I asked in amusement. Why would you name a star a Pearl if it's not a pearl?_

"_Because, I like that name," Vala said._

"_Hey guys, what'ya got there?" Kenn asked. _

_I showed him star. "This is star. I found it there on the sand." I said pointing to where I found it. "I picked it up. Vala didn't at first. Because she was scared. But she's not anymore that's why she's holding it now." I said happily playing with my pet. _

"_Ohh! Starfish!" Kenn said._

"_It's pretty," Vala said again now patting Pearl. _

"_I'm taking mine home. It's my pet now," I said happily._

"_You can't take it home," Kenn said._

"_Well…I want to. So I will," Vala said._

"_You can'! It's gonna die!" Kenn said. I ignored him, so did Vala. _

_Vala and I played around with our pets and made them talk to each other. Kenn studied us then walked away. We kept playing until sundown. _

"_Time to go home!" I said, setting the starfish down and back into the water._

"_You're not taking it home?" Vala asked in surprise. _

"_No. Kenn told us not to," I said. _

"_And your listening to him?" Vala asked in surprise._

"_Yeah, Star might die; I don't want that to happen." I said sadly. "I want Star to live and go back to her family."_

_Vala looked thoughtful, and followed my actions. She set Pearl back into the water and said good-bye. I did the same._

"_Bye Star! Bye Pearl!" We called to them as they were carried away by the waves. _

_I looked at my palms; purple little circles were on them. "Ewwwwwww!" I tried to wash them out with the water from the ocean, but they couldn't come off._

I felt someone pinch my finger. "Ow!" I said, returning to the present.

"Oh, sorry." Accalia said in a high pitched voice.

I looked over to what she was doing. She had already painted my fingernails the shades of the ocean. She was now painting little pink star shaped objects on my nails.

"Stay still," Andromeda and Galla ordered at the same time. I noticed Andromeda had my hair in her hands. She was doing something to my hair; I could feel the heat off of the instrument she was using on my hair.

"Are those starfish Accalia?" I asked.

"Yes," Accalia said slowly, focusing on the drawing.

_Ironic. She was painting little starfish on my nails. And I was just thinking about the time Vala and I found starfish…_

"What are you doing Andromeda?" I asked, the moment I said the question, I knew the answer.

"A surprise," my prep team and I said at the said time.

I noticed that at every sentence they say, the ends of their sentences curve up like a question. I wondered how they made that possible. I was about to mimic them, but I decided it would be rude.

Galla made me open my eyes wide; "I need to curl your eyelashes." She took a weird looking object and waited for me to open eyes wider.

I did as she told; I opened my eyes wide for the third time today. _I had been counting. _

"Okay, I need to apply mascara now," Galla said.

I continued to hold my eyes wide open.

"Done," said Galla.

"Done, as in like, with everything?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes with the makeup," Galla said.

"I wanna see!" I demanded.

Galla held me down, "Wait. I need to make sure everything is all good." She looked over to my excited face. _I probably have a big stupid looking grin on my face right now_, I thought.

"Okay, you may see." Galla said happily.

I tried to stand up, but now Andromeda held me down. "You are not seeing yourself until everything is done," she ordered.

I sighed sadly, and retreated back into my seat.

"Sorry hon," Galla said. "But I think Andromeda has a good idea."

I put on an annoyed face. "Tell me when everything is done," I muttered.

Galla nodded in response and went to the supply table and started cleaning things up.

"Done," said Accalia.

"Done?" I asked, jumping out of my seat.

"No," Andromeda said, holding me down once again.

"I am!" Accalia said cheerily. "Your nails are beautiful!"

I was about to look at my nails, but then I remembered Andromeda. I was scared that she'd rip my hands out of their sockets and take them away so I wouldn't be able to see my nails. "Can I look at my nails?" I asked Andromeda hopefully.

She gave the question a thought, but then said no. Andromeda kept working on my hair while Accalia and Galla organized and applied themselves with makeup form the table. I closed my eyes and thought about what I looked like.

_I would probably look like them. The Capitol citizens. With all their makeup, and elaborate hairstyles. I'd probably look like a mermaid that lived in an ocean made out of makeup. _

"DONE!" I heard Andromeda say.

"Are you sure?" I asked, trying to not get my hopes up.

"Yes. Absolutely. No more," Andromeda said almost sadly. _I guess she loved working on hair,_ I thought. The second Andromeda let go of me, I bounced up and turned to look at myself in the mirror.

_The girl I saw in the mirror wasn't me. She looked like a goddess. _

Whenever I moved, she moved. She had a lovely soft looking face, but also striking. Her face was a very light shade, almost porcelain white. Her face would give off gold sparkles, making her glow. Her skin, the same with her face, would also give of sparkles.

She had pink colored cheeks that made her look younger than she was supposed to be. Her lips were tinted with the same pink color as her cheeks. Her lips would shine whenever the light caught onto it.

She had dark and very long, curly eyelashes making her look more beautiful. Her eyelid was painted with different shades of the ocean. From light sea green, mixing to a light shade of blue, to deep dark blue, then a hint of dark purple. At the end of her left eye, there were neatly gold painted swirls that went down to the side of her face.

I touched her face in the mirror. I looked at my fingers. _My fingernails looked like the waters of District 4._ I gasped in surprise and in joy. There were little fishes, corals, shells, and_ starfish._ Each design painted neatly on each nail.

I blinked to make sure the girl in front of me was real. Gold, blue, and green sparkles came from nowhere. They bounced off of something like electric sparks and placed themselves on the floor, some even on my robe.

My face changed in confusion, so did the girl's in the mirror. _Where are the sparkles coming from?_ I looked around my face, trying to find where the source was. I blinked again, and then the ray of colors sparked back to life again.

"It's coming from my eye lashes," I muttered in awe.

My prep team giggled, I turned to face them. The laughed even more, probably at the sight of my mouth hanging open.

I ran to them, giving each one a hug. "O my gosh, you guys. She looks…" I said, trying to find a word. I couldn't find one. _Vala would've been able to though, she was the smarter one of us two._

"She?" Andromeda asked surprised.

"Did I say she? I meant I," I said correcting myself. "No, I meant she." I said changing my mind again. "She definitely does not look like me," I said stating the information.

"Well, she is you." Accalia said happily.

I walked back to the mirror, really looking her now. _Or me,_ I thought. "She definitely, is not me. She's…way prettier."

"Well, she is you," said Andromeda now.

"I don't think so…" I said trailing off. The girl had a frown on, but she was still beautiful. I gasped, so did she. "Her hair!" I exclaimed.

Her hair was tinted with streaks of blue and green. It was done in waves that looked like the waters of District 4, the colors and everything else. I took my hair which was done the same way. I moved it around; it gave off gold sparkles when caught in the light.

"How…" I said, trying to find the right words again. My prep team giggled once again. "I love it! " I exclaimed.

"It was all Andromeda," Galla said.

Andromeda blushed, "Thank you so much!" I said. She nodded in response, a small smile on her face.

"I think you're ready to meet Cassia!" Galla said.

"Yay!" Accalia exclaimed. "Let's go get her!"

Galla and Accalia walked out of the room, skipping and scurrying.

A confused expression filled my face, "Who's Cassia?" I asked Andromeda, who was still in the room.

"Your stylist," she replied excitedly.

A grin spread out on my face. I began getting excited like Galla and Accalia.

The door bursted open, and in came Galla, Accalia, and a very simple lady. She had caramel colored hair and was also very pretty, no loads of Capitol makeup hiding her face. She kind of looked like me. The same light colored skin and blue eyes, though I don't know if my eyes were blue right now. She was a little taller than Galla and Accalia, though she was only wearing flats.

I gasped, "That's my favorite color!" I said, pointing to her tiffany blue flats.

The lady laughed, filling the room with the most soothing voice I've ever heard. "Yes, it's my favorite color too," she said. I noticed her voice didn't fill the strong Capitol accent everyone has here, only a little bit. The ends of her sentence didn't curl up like she was asking a question either. A grin spread out on my face.

"I'm Cassia, your stylist," said Cassia.

"Hi, I bet you already know who I am," I said happily.

"Yes. I do," she said, smiling.

I smiled, "I love your outfit." I really did. She was wearing a blue dress that matched with her tiffany blue shoes. The top of the dress was covered in lace, and then the bottom puffed out like a bubble. The dress was a little above her knees. It was a little over the top, but also simple in a way. I loved it. I wanted to dress like that, but the clothes in District 4 were limited.

She laughed again, "Thank you. I knew you would like it."

I got confused, "Why would you dress for me?"

She giggled, "I didn't. I love the way you dress, so when we got to pick our tributes, I immediately picked you. It was the same with my friend Fiona, Vala's stylist."

I nodded, "Well, that's all very clear to me now."

She chuckled, then said, "Galla, Andromeda, Accalia, will you step out of the room and allow me time with Adrielle?" Cassia asked nicely.

My prep team launched into a group of "yeses," "byes," and "see you laters," as they left the room.

"Will I see them again?" I asked, once they left the room. It would be a shame not to. My Prep Team was very shallow and oblivious to events around them, but they tried to help me in every way they can.

"Yes, you will see them later before the parade," Cassia replied.

I nodded in reply.

Cassia inspected my prep team's work. "May you please take off your robe?" She asked me nicely.

_I wasn't surprised this time. Somehow I saw it coming. _

I took off my robe shyly and stood straight as Cassia inspected me. She circled my body like what my prep team did earlier. Then she measured my waist, shoulders, and thighs. She nodded and mumbled a few things to herself. She nodded to me once she was done, "Come on. Let's have a chat," she said. I put my robe on quickly and followed her out of the room.

She led me in another room right across from the door. I walked in, I was baffled. One wall was completely transparent. The view took me aback. It was the Capitol, spread out right in front of us.

She sat down on one of the two plush white chairs and gestured me to sit on the other one across from her. I did as I told; Cassia seemed like a nice woman.

"We got the best view out of all the other rooms," Cassia said satisfied.

I nodded; Cassia hit a button on the coffee table placed between us. In seconds, food appeared. There were chocolate covered strawberries arranged neatly, placed on a plate. I gasped, "I love strawberries! Can I take one?"

She motioned me to, "Help yourself." She told me nicely, and taking a strawberry and biting it. She did this all in one swift and graceful motion. I tried to do the same, but I doubt I looked that good doing it. She finished the strawberry in another bite and started a conversation.

"I measured you, and luckily, we don't need to adjust anything to the dress. You're the perfect size," she said happily.

My mood lit up when she mentioned the dress. "When will I be getting in it?" I asked excitedly.

She laughed, "You're really excited to be getting in that dress are you?"

I nodded enthusiastically, taking another strawberry.

"Soon," she said. "What do you think the dress looks like?"

"You mean what I hope it would look like?" I asked. She nodded, curious. "Uhm, I think it would be nice if the dress looked like the ocean. Like District 4. It think that's all." I said shortly.

"That's all?" Cassia asked surprised.

"Yes," I smiled shyly. "I don't really know what to expect other than it'll look like the ocean. And I hope it wouldn't be some regular ocean dress like the past tribute's outfits. I want to stand out," I said.

She nodded, "I think you would really stand out in the outfit Fiona and I design for you and Vala." She said very sure.

A smile grew on my face. _I want to be like Katniss. I want to have an outfit like that. I want to stand out like that. Maybe even more. _

"Was there anything else you wanted for the dress?"

I thought about it for a minute, and then exclaimed, "A cape!"

Cassia giggled, suddenly I felt silly. "Is that a bad idea?" I asked suddenly feeling like an idiot.

"Come on, let's see," she said getting up.

Minutes later, I was standing in yet, _another_ room. _This is the third room were going into today._ I was closing my eyes, standing in front of a huge mirror. Cassia was getting the dress ready. She was taking the dress out of a black bag that was wrapped around it.

"Ready?" Cassia asked me.

"More than I'll ever be," I said excitedly.

"Please take off your robe, and I'll slip the dress on you."

I took the robe off, happily this time. _I cannot wait anymore. I have to see the dress._

I felt Cassia slip the dress on me. The light, soft, chiffony material touching my skin.

_I opened my eyes…_

…

_You guys like? Are you excited to find out what the dress looks like? Me too. I'm working on a design on it right now. _

_-Kat_

_P.S. _

_Please tell people about this story! We would love more viewers!_

_And make sure you check out my story, __The Reaping Tribute's POVs.  
__My favorite chapter there is the last one. It's about Katniss's daughter, Blaise._

…


	25. Chapter 22 Vala's POV Remake Center

_Hi guys, in this chapter you'll notice a sudden jump from Val being in the middle of nowhere to her being at the Remake Center. That's because the book was kind of vague about what it looked like and how they got there…all we know is that it's underground, so that's why there was no building in the last chapter. Yeah. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the jump doesn't bother you!_

_PLEASE review! Thanks for reading our story!_

_-ArianaWeasly_

**Chapter 22 - ****Vala's POV**

The metal bench was cold, especially since the only thing I was wearing was a thin robe that Candy had given me. Candy was the receptionist at the Remake Center. She had flaming red hair, and light yellow skin. Her eyebrows had been replaced with orange sparkles that matched her dress. The dress had a layer, kind of like an umbrella or a tutu that stuck out from her waist. It was strapless, and shiny. Too shiny. I could tell that she had been going for a 'fire' look, because all across her shoulders and arms were tattoos of flames.

She was definitely a Capitol person.

Bored, I looked around the room. It was smaller than I had expected it to be, about the size of a bedroom. On the side opposite from me was a large, silver tub. Next to the tub was a glass, closed off box that looked like one of those showers you stood in. I wondered what it was for. One of the walls was covered in gray cabinets. They were probably filled with soaps, shampoo, makeup, hair supplies, and everything else I needed to have my makeover done.

In the middle of the room was a cluster of various chairs, benches, and stools that I would sit on while getting my makeup and hair done. There was also a table which was probably for waxing; I shuddered as I thought of that.

In one corner of the room was a shower head, with a drain on the floor underneath it. I guessed that it was for rinsing off.

Finally, there was a large mirror, almost taking up a whole wall. I looked at myself in it. I looked really bad, with big bags under my eyes, and messy hair. I decided not to look in it again until my prep team told me to. Speaking of that, where was my prep team? After being around Hermia so much, I had thought that all Capitol people were obsessed with being on time to things. I was getting bored and cold just sitting there on the bench; if only Candy had given me a warmer robe.

I sat there, twirling my hair and thinking about Candy, for at least 10 minutes before my prep team came in. They came in _loudly._

_**BANG.**_

The door was thrown open, and 3 people stood there. One was a boy, with lime green skin, a bright yellow Mohawk, tattoos all over his arms, and earrings covering his ears. He was wearing a tight, white cotton t-shirt that showed off his muscles and tattoos, and a pair of cargo shorts. There was a girl standing next to him with pink sparkly skin, a sky blue bob cut, purple fishnet stockings, and a skintight sky blue dress. Before I got the chance to look at the last person, they came barging in, eager to see what I looked like.

"Get up!" The boy said.

I obeyed, and stood up quickly. The circled around me, eyeing me like hawks. I finally got a good look at the last person. It was a girl. She had dark brown skin, and green, catlike eyes; an odd combination. Her thick, black hair was pulled up into a tight bun, and she wore a tight silver dress.

"I like your hair," she said in a silky voice. "Sorry we're late by the way, Cassius had to change outfits."

I had no idea who Cassius was, but kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah, but _somebody_ had to change shoes," the boy said, glaring at the girl. _That's probablyCassius_, I thought. "She's got a great shape," he added.

"LOOK AT HER NAILS!" the girl with the fishnet stockings shrieked.

They all gasped and grabbed my hands, looking at my nails. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed as they examined my short, stubby, dirty nails.

Finally, the boy straightened up. "I'm Cassius," he said, introducing himself.

"I'm Kharmen," said the girl with the fishnet stockings.

"Awuor," said the girl with the dark brown skin.

"Val," I replied.

They all laughed.

"What?" I asked, offended.

"Of course we know who _you_ are,"Cassius said.

"We had your parents," said Kharmen.

_How old were these people? Plastic surgery could do amazing things these days…_I thought.

"Don't forget her brother," Awuor said dreamily. "He had the nicest muscles and the dreamiest eyes…"

I gagged. "You mean Kenn?"

"Of course silly!" Kharmen said.

"Uh, can we stop talking about my family now?" I said.

"Sorry sugar," Cassius said. "Let's start by getting you down to beauty level zero."

I didn't even bother asking what that was; because I knew they would just laugh at me. From all of their chatter though, I figured out that it meant natural beauty.

The first thing they did was make me take a bath.

"In front of you guys?" I said, as Cassius gestured towards the tub.

"Duh," Kharmen said.

"But I don't want to-"

"Just get in the tub hon," Awuor said.

I sighed, and took off my robe. I got in the tub as quickly as I could before they could look at me for too long. The water was hot, but it cooled down a bit after they poured in a bunch of flowery smelling soap. Then they took out some gigantic sponges and began scrubbing me.

It was really weird being washed by somebody else, but they acted like they did it every day. They probably did too. The whole time they scrubbed me down, they chatted about all the new fads and all the clothes that were in. They kept talking about how jealous they were of Candy's dress, which was apparently called a peplum dress. I thought it looked idiotic, but they were all in love with it. It was the newest trend in the Capitol, one that dated back from at least the 21st Century. At least that's what they claimed. It was hard to tell who was saying what, since their voices all had that same, funny Capitol accent.

Their chattering was only interrupted once, when Cassius was scrubbing down my arms.

"Look at her muscles!" he said, open mouthed.

"They're beautiful!" Awuor said, "Just like her brothers."

I rolled my eyes.

They finished washing me, and let me get out of the tub. I stood in what I thought originally was a glass box, but turned out to be an amazing drier that dried off your body and your hair instantly. I was about to put my robe back on, when Cassius grabbed my arm.

"No so fast," he said. "We need to wax all the hair off of you first."

The next 30 minutes was torturous. They would pour hot wax onto your skin, and press a piece of paper on it. After the wax dried, then _RIIIIIIIIP!_ They would pull it off and all of the hair would come out with it. It felt like your skin itself was being torn off of you.

After they pulled the last bit of hair off of me, they began rubbing some foamy stuff into my red, burning skin. It stung at first, but then it soothed the skin. I couldn't help but sigh as they rubbed it in.

"Much better, huh?" Kharmen said with a smile.

I smiled back. My prep team might've been crazy, but that was just how they were. They were actually very sweet, although they didn't seem to get that the Hunger Games is _not_ something you want to be in. They acted like it was a big honor.

"Yeah, a lot better," I replied. "But it really hurt."

My prep team exchanged looks with each other, making me wonder what it was I didn't know. I ignored it for the time being.

After the foam, they made me get back into the tub, where they scrubbed me again. As Kharmen was looking through a cabinet full of sponges, she came across a bottle of gel.

"That's where it was!" she exclaimed.

"Where what was?" I asked.

"Oh this gel stuff that you rub onto…onto your…" she trailed off after receiving a glare from Cassius.

"Come on Kharmen, tell me what it does," I said, suspicious that they might use it on me.

"It…ittakesallthehairoffyourbody painlessly," she mumbled. Clearing her throat, she repeated in a squeaky voice, "It takes all the hair off of your body, painlessly. It's a gel hair remover. You just rub it on, rinse it off, and _voila!_ All the hair comes off. They invented it years ago,"

"You mean you didn't have to wax me?" I asked angrily.

"Well, we kind of did because, uh…uh…because we couldn't find it," she said in a timid voice.

I felt like I was about to explode. Then I noticed the looks on my prep team's faces. Kharmen looked like she was preparing to be killed, and Awuor and Cassius had crept over to the other side of the room when I wasn't looking, in case I got mad. My prep team's emotions were too delicate for me to get mad at them.

I just took a deep breath, and let it out through my teeth. "It's okay, I understand."

Kharmen and the others breathed sighs of relief. I smiled.

"Back in the tub, hon" said Awuor, coming over to my side of the room.

I looked down at my feet. They were on the cold, gray floor of the room, surrounded by a puddle of water. I hadn't even realized I had gotten out of the tub.

Sighing, I stepped back into the bathtub, and let my prep team finishing scrubbing me down.

A little later, I got out, got dried, and then sat back on the chair. Awuor brushed out my hair, Kharmen cleaned my nails, and Cassius rubbed some lotion onto my arms and legs. When they were done with that, they spun my chair around to face a huge mirror on the wall.

I looked so clean I was shiny, and my usually wild curls were so smooth and clean they reflected the light, and fell down where they should. In other words, I looked better than I ever had before.

"There," Cassius said, satisfied.

"What, are we done?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course not!"Awuor said.

"This is just beauty level zero," Kharmen added.

"Oh," I said, disappointed.

"If you think you look good now, just wait until we've made you beautiful, sweetheart!" Awuor said.

"She already is beautiful," Kharmen said softly.

I blushed, but none of them seemed to notice as they got back to work. I made sure to grab my robe before they began, since it was starting to get cold in the room.

The first thing they "made pretty" as they called it, was my nails. Since they were so short it wasn't possible to clip them, they decided to just file them until they were smooth. Then they added fake nails on top of them, since mine were a 'disgrace'. They put a little bit of glue on the tips of the fingernails, and sprinkled sand on them, like the shore of a beach. The rest of the nail they would paint with different shades of swirling blue. My middle fingers had fish painted on them, and my rings fingers had coral. On each of my thumbs, they glued on a small, fake starfish to complete the ocean theme.

That reminded me of when I was little. I had been playing on the beach with Adrielle, and we were finding starfish. I hadn't told her at the time, but starfish really scared me then, because I thought starfish were stars that had fallen out of the sky, into the water. That was back when I was scared of outer space too. Adrielle had dared me to pick one up, so I did. I named my starfish Pearl (which Adrielle thought was a stupid name, but that's coming from someone who named their starfish _Star_), and after that day I was never scared of starfish again.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when they started working on my face. The first thing they did was put some foundation on my face, to even out my skin tones. Then they started to load my face with different creams and powder that I couldn't even recognize. After my face felt so heavy, like it was about to fall off, they finally stopped. The held a mirror up to my face, so I could see what I looked like. My skin was perfect. It was shiny, even, and even sparkled slightly when I moved my head around. Looking at my eyebrows, I noticed they had been plucked. _How had they done that without me noticing?_I wondered.

"I look amazing," I breathed.

"Of course you do!" said Awuor, silkily.

"And we're not even done with you," Cassius said.

"What _haven't _you done?" I asked, slightly aggravated.

"Well there's the mascara, and the blush, and the eye shadow…"Kharmen began, her blue bob cut wig almost slipping off in excitement.

"But you don't need to know everything," Cassius cut in hastily, before Kharmen could rattle off all the makeup I still needed.

"All that matters is how you look at the end," Awuor said.

Saying nothing, I just raised my perfect eyebrows at them as they began once more.

Makeup was by far the most annoying thing to have put on. I had to pucker my lips for the lip gloss, and open my eyes wide for mascara, both at the same time. Then I had to close my eyes for the eye shadow, and rub my lips together to even out the gloss at the same time. I must've looked really stupid, but Kharmen told me that I didn't. Capitol people were terrible at lying.

Even more powders and various face paints were carefully but quickly applied to my face. It took about half an hour before they were done.

"Ready?" Kharmen asked, finally.

I nodded, nervously wondering what my face looked like.

Awuor held a mirror in front of my face, and I gasped.

"I-I look-I don't know what to say!" I exclaimed.

I didn't either. My face looked beautiful. My lips had a thin layer of pink gloss over them, and they shined and sparkled in the light. My skin tone was an even, tan color (very different compared to Adrielle's pale skin), with just the right amount of light pink blush on my cheeks. Somehow, they had figured out how to make my cheekbones noticeable, making me look pretty but sophisticated.

My eyes were definitely the best part. Mascara had made my eyelashes dark, thick, long, curly, and even _sparkly._Whenever I blinked, the eyelashes seemed to float with my eyelids in slow motion, throwing blue, green, and gold sparkles all over my face. My eyelashes were like mini glitter machines. My eyes themselves looked amazing too. They looked bigger somehow; big, green and beautiful, just like the sea. On my eyelids were different shades of the ocean. On the edge of my eyelid was sea foam green. Different shades of blue and green were above that, getting darker and darker until the paint finally ended just below my eyebrows, with a shade of dark purple. What was next to my eyes was my favorite part. Blue, green, and even gold swirls decorated the corner of my eyes, going back almost to my hairline. One thin gold swirl on my right eye went all the way down the side of my face. A thin layer of sparkles covered the swirls too, which wasn't a huge surprise. My prep team really loved their glitter.

"What do you think?" Cassius asked, grinning.

"It's absolutely wondiferous," I said, using one of my favorite words.

My prep team scrunched their eyebrows at the mysterious word.

"Thank you…?" Kharmen said in a confused voice.

I laughed. "Don't worry guys, that was a compliment."

Their faces lit up at that, and they started to gush about how gorgeous I looked. I waved all of their compliments away and just stared at myself in the mirror some more. _Woah, hold back on the narcissism Val,_ I thought, finally tearing my eyes away from the mirror.

"What's next?" I asked eager to be made even more beautiful.

"Your hair," my prep team said in unison.

They sat me down on a metal bar stool and got to work, chattering excitedly again.

I could kind of distinguish their voices now. Cassius had a small, deep grumble in his throat when he spoke. Kharmen kind of chirped when she talked, and Awuor had a small purr in her throat. I decided to place them into animal groups; Cassius was the lion, with his orange Mohawk and grumbly throat. Kharmen was a bird, because of her chirpiness. Awuor was a cat, because of her cat eyes and her purr.

I stopped myself for a moment, and thought about what I had just done. _The Games are making me go insane_, I thought. _Animals groups, what is __**wrong**__ with me?_

I still couldn't help but think of Cassius as "the lion" from then on.

"So, what are you guys doing with my hair?" I asked, conversationally.

They froze. I guess most people didn't ask them _what_ they were doing to them.

Cassius, the lion, was the first to unfreeze. "We were thinking of keeping your hair in its curls, since they're so pretty. Then we thought we might put it up in messy ponytail."

"Don't forget we're leaving some curls out around her face, Lion," Awuor added.

It was my turn to freeze. "You call Cassius lion too?" I asked, scared. How had they known I had nicknamed Cassius "Lion"?

"Oh, yeah. It's the most wonderful nickname ever," Awuor said dreamily.

"That's because Kenn invented it," Cassius said, smirking.

"That is not true!" Awuor snapped.

Lion and Kharmen just stared at her, until she gave in. "Okay, fine, maybe it is, but it still suits you."

I laughed in agreement.

Lion suddenly realized something I said earlier. "You asked why Awuor called me Cassius _too_, right?" he said.

"Yeah," I said blushing. "I kind of nicknamed you that in my head."

Lion just laughed.

"You are _so_ much like your brother," Kharmen said.

My prep team began to work on my hair again. A few minutes later, I interrupted their chatter again.

"Why did Kenn nickname you Lion? I mean everybody in the Capitol changes there look at least 3 times a year."

"Yeah, everybody except for Cassius," Kharmen said, rolling her eyes.

"He's so behind, he's only changed his look like once in the past 3 years," Awuor added.

Lion just blushed, ignoring Awuor, and continued to work on my hair. So did Kharmen and Awuor. After quickly spraying it with some hair spray, my prep team stepped back.

"There," Kharmen said.

"You're done!" Lion chimed in.

"Absolutely done," Awuor added.

"And you look beautiful!" They growled, chirped, and purred together.

_Don't go insane…_ I reminded myself.

"Can I take a look?" I asked.

"Of course hon," said Awuor.

They were about to spin me around in my bar stool, but I stopped them before it was too late.

"Wait!" I said. "I don't want to look until I have the dress on."

"Okay! But make sure we're here when you look at yourself for the first time!" Chirped Kharmen.

"Of course I will," I said, giving her a smile.

"We'll go get your stylist then," Lion said.

My prep team rushed towards the door, excited to bring my stylist to me. I wonder what my stylist would be like. Would it be a girl or a boy? Would they be crazy? Would they dress me well?

I shivered half because I was cold, half because I was nervous about my stylist. My robe was hanging on a hook by the bathtub. I got up and walked over to it. Grabbing it, I was about to put it on when a voice stopped me.

"I wouldn't put that on if I was you," it said.

I spun around. Behind me was a Capitol woman. She was short, and surprisingly wasn't wearing heels or anything to make her taller. Also surprisingly, she wasn't wearing anything too crazy. It was colorful, yes, but not fancy at all. I liked that.

"Why shouldn't I?" I asked, although hanging my robe back on the hanger.

"Because you'd just have to take it off again," she said with a grin. "That's because I'm your stylist, Fiona."

"I'm Val," I said.

She laughed.

"Why does everybody laugh when I say that?!" I asked.

"That's because we all know you already, with your parents and brother being in the Games." She replied.

"Yeah I know…" I grumbled. "And what are you wearing?" I added on.

Fiona laughed again. "You of all people should recognize it," she said with a laugh.

She was right; what she was wearing was _my_ style. She was wearing sky blue skinny jeans, with a yellow tank top and a pair of black flats. Her skin was not died, although it was so tan she might have gotten it darkened slightly. Her hair was basically the only thing Capitol-like thing about her; it was bright purple, and went down just past her shoulders. Besides all the colors, she was wearing an outfit I wore most days.

"That's partly why I chose you," she said.

"What?" I said, confused.

"My partner and I get to choose who we work with. I chose you partly because I worked with your family members, but mainly because of what you were wearing from the train to the car. I loved it by the way; those tennis shoes came in handy," Fiona said with a wink.

I blushed at her praise, and at her last comment. "Thanks, and yeah, they did," I said laughing.

She laughed with me. "Time to measure you for your dress! I already know what to put you in of course; I just need to tune it up a bit based on your size."

Fiona circled around me a couple times, just like my prep team had, before coming in to measure me.

As she was wrapping the measuring tape around my thigh, I asked "So, what does my dress look like?"

"That's a surprise, although I will say that you and Adrielle are going to match. Your dresses are the same style, but different colors."

_Twins_, I thought.

"I just wanted to ask you though, is there anything you want the dress to look like?" Fiona asked suddenly.

"Uhm, I don't know. Adrielle's good at that kind of thing, not me," I said blushing.

"Adrielle already told us what she wanted." Fiona replied.

"Let me guess, she wants a cape, doesn't she?" I said with a laugh.

Fiona laughed with me. "How did you know?"

"She's always loved the capes in the Chariot Parade," I said.

"You know her so well," Fiona said. "Well there is going to be a cape."

I couldn't help but feel excited. I wanted to stand out, like all Blaise's parents had. I started daydreaming about my dress…

"Hmm, that's funny," Fiona said suddenly, bringing me back down to Earth. She had just finished measuring me.

"What is?" I asked.

"You and Adrielle have the exact same measurements, although yours are slightly bigger in the shoulders because of your muscles," she said.

"Wow, you really didn't even need to measure me!" I said, laughing.

"Actually I do, because your proportions are slightly different than hers," Fiona replied.

Leave it to a stylist to answer my joke seriously.

"Oh, well that's true," I said, playing dumb. "When will my dress be ready?"

"Sooner than expected, because of this sizing miracle. I'd say it will be ready in the next 10 minutes," she replied.

"Yay!" I squeaked, eager to try it on.

"Wait here," Fiona said, walking towards the door. "Oh yeah, you might want to put your robe back on," she said, winking.

Blushing, again, I quickly put my robe on before Fiona could open the door, and other people could see me.

I sat on the bar stool, waiting for Fiona and my prep team to arrive. Time seemed to tick by slowly in my excitement. Much to my dismay, there was no clock in the room to check the time with._ I wonder how long I've been here for_, I thought.

Finally there was a knock on the door. "Close your eyes!" squeaked the excited voice of Kharmen."

I shut them.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," I heard Lion's voice grumble.

"Remember how Kenn didn't close his eyes and he-"

"YES, WE REMEMBER!" replied Kharmen, Fiona, and Lion together in aggravated voices. I didn't even have to hear the voice to know that it was Awuor who was talking about Kenn.

"Keep them closed!" Fiona said, as I heard the door squeak open.

I squeezed my eyes even tighter.

"No peeking!" Lion reminded me.

I felt somebody slip the robe off of me, and let them guide me into the dress. I felt a soft layer of fabric, probably chiffon, pressing against my body. The dress was light, but heavier than chiffon should be. _There must be something fancy on it_, I thought.

Warm hands gently turned me toward what I was guessing was the mirror.

"Open your eyes now," said Fiona.


	26. Chapter 23 - Adrielle's POV

…...

Hey guys…

So, this is a very very short chapter. _I'm sorry for that. _

It's short because I can't describe how they get to the chariot parade. So, I'll start the next chapter when Adrielle and Vala are about to board the chariot.

Yeah. Again, I'm sorry for this chapter for being soo short. I'll stop 'talking' and won't keep you waiting.

Now…Please read!

_-Kat_

…...

**Chapter 23 –**** Adrielle's POV**

_I opened my eyes…_

_The dress was incredible._

The top of the dress was covered with little grains. _The grains looks like something familiar,_ I thought. I turned and touched them. _They sparkled and gave off different colors. _Mostly pink, red, purple, orange, and gold.The colors the top of dress gave off were the same colors as the sand back at home. _It looked like sand! _It had the exact same little details and the exact same colors that would fly around when caught in the light.

The bottom of the dress…_the bottom of the dress was my favorite part. _The bottom of the dress was covered in sparkles and was filled with colors of the ocean. The top most colors starting from sea green, to flamboyant light blues then to deep ocean blues and purples. The bottom of the dress faded into the dark, deep, purples of the ocean.

I stared at the dress in the mirror in disbelief. I blinked, my eyes let off another shower of sparkles. The dress rippled and moved.

I gasped, "Did it just…?"

Cassia laughed, "Yes. You like it?"

"I _love_ it!" I said, emphasizing the word love.

"I'm glad you do," Cassia chuckled. "Was this what you had in mind?"

"Better," I said. "But, do you have a cape?" I asked hopefully.

She laughed even more, light hearted noise filling the room. "Yes, I do."

I squealed in delight.

Cassia took out a celeste blue cape out of the same black bag that my dress was in. I lifted my blue tinted hair out of the way. Cassia carefully put the cape on me, making a little _snap!_ sound when it connected to my dress.

"There's a magnet connecting the two together so it won't fall off while you're on the chariot," Cassia explained to me. I nodded.

Cassia stepped away and examined me, like what she did earlier. She gave a little _hmph_, and then adjusted my dress a little bit. She gave a little sound of satisfaction once she was done fixing me.

"Take a look…" Cassia said, motioning to the mirror.

I turned and looked at the cape.

It was beautifully done. The cape dropped elegantly down my back and fell onto the floor. It was very long in the back, which worried me. I might trip on it. Or worse, it might get caught in the chariot during the parade.

Cassia laughed, "It's not going to get caught in the chariot."

I stared at her in disbelief, "How'd you know what I was thinking?"

She laughed again, "You were frowning at the cape. Then your face changed and you looked worried."

I smiled, "It showed that much?"

Cassia grinned, "Here's the shoes," she said giving me a weird looking fabric.

I took it and looked at it, trying to judge on what it was. I finally came up on a decision, "Is this _seaweed_?" I asked hesitantly.

Cassia laughed, "Yes. Took you a while to recognize it."

"We're using this…as our shoes…" I said doubting Cassia's choice of footwear.

She took the seaweed from me and wrapped it around both of my feet. They looked like sandals, but they were seaweed.

"There," Cassia said happily.

"That's cool. It actually looks like it was made for feet," I said.

"Because it was. Those," Cassia said pointing to my feet, "are sandals, we made them look like seaweed."

I grinned, "Awesome." She smiled back, thrilled that I liked her idea.

I made up my mind about Cassia. I had been secretly thinking about whether or not to trust her. Now, I decided I would trust her. She had made me an amazing dress and very cool shoes. I don't know what more I could ask for.

"I forgot to tell you, Vala and you are going to match," Cassia said.

My happy mood decreased, "Same makeup? Same dress? Same everything?" I asked, trying not to sound sad.

"Kind of, her makeup will be a little different. She has the same gold swirls, but it's drawn on the right side of her face." Cassia said, not detecting anything sadness form my voice.

I nodded soundlessly. Her reply didn't make me feel any better. I hoped that Vala had a dress a little different than mine.

A little ping went off in the room.

"Oh, it looks like we better go; the parade is going to start in an hour," Cassia said. "Take a look at yourself one last time before we head out," she said kindly.

I did, I looked at myself maybe for the last time until after the parade. _That girl doesn't look like me,_ my mind thought unbelievably. I looked older, also younger at the same time.

I looked at the sand on my dress, sparkling a dozen different colors. Then I looked at the bottom part, the skirt of the dress. _It was like I was wearing the ocean. _My dress represented District 4 very well. _I had on a magnificent dress. _

I turned and looked at my cape; it was beautifully done as ever.

The shoes came up a little above my ankles. They looked good with the dress. I had thought they would clash with the dress and make my feet look like I had taken a walk through seaweed carelessly, but I was wrong_. Always trust Cassia's judgment,_ I thought. _She's almost always never wrong._

My face looked perfect, no blemishes. I looked closer at the gold swirls surrounding the right side of my face. It was painted with extreme, intricate, details. Usually my eyes stayed in one color. Blue, green, or gray. But now, all the colors mixed in, making my eyes entrancing.

My dirty-blond hair, usually up in a ponytail, was now cascading celestially down my back.

Everything about me looked fictitious, but everything was real.

I looked away and turned to Cassia. I ran up to her and hugged her. She stood stiffly, but then quickly returned the warm gesture.

"Thank you," I whispered. She smiled warmly, took my arm, and led me out of the room.

…...

Wasn't that short? _Sorry…_

I'll get to work on the next chapter now!  
I'm really excited to write about the chariot and the parade!

_-Kat_

…...  
9/27/12  
4:46pm


	27. Chapter 24 - Vala's POV

_Okay guys, I'm sorry, but this is going to be really short __ Sorry! The next chapter will be longer, I PROMISE. So stop wasting your time reading this and READ THE CHAPTER! (Don't forget to review too!)_

_-ArianaWeasly_

**Chapter 24 – ****Vala's POV**

I looked like a mermaid. Not one of those ugly, scaly ones with the green ratty hair…but the pretty ones. No, I looked better than a mermaid. I looked like a mermaid, mixed with an angel, mixed with a beautiful girl…me. It was me, but it didn't look like it. All I could do was gasp.

"It's so…amazing," I breathed. It was lame, but I didn't know what else to say.

The first thing I noticed was my dress. It was beautiful. It was strapless, and went down to my knees. At the neckline, were a bunch of miniscule, multicolored grains. I rubbed my finger on it, and felt the gritty . It was the most beautiful sand I'd ever seen; reflecting light and glittering.

Below the sandy part, the top part of the dress, was light, turquoise colored fabric. The turquoise deepened into ocean blues that swirled down, getting darker and darker, until the bottom finished off in a deep, majestic purple. It glittered, and rippled all over, like waves sparkling in the sun. The whole dress was made out of a light chiffon material that could easily move like water. Why was the dress so heavy then?

"Uhm, I love the dress, but why is it so heavy?" I asked.

"That's a surprise," said Fiona with a smile. "You'll see what happens during the parade."

Ugh. Capitol people and their surprises.

Pushing away the thought, I continued to look at myself in the mirror. My hair was beautiful. I hadn't gotten the chance to look at it before, but I could now. It was pulled back into a messy ponytail. The hair on top was wavy, with one blue and one green highlight. The ponytail itself was my normal curls, except way smoother and more controlled looking than usual. A few small, short curls were left out at the front, framing my face. Their ends were colored turquoise. All in all, my hair looked way cuter than it normally did; especially without all the little fly aways. _How __**did**__ they get rid of those?_

As I had seen earlier, my makeup was beautiful. I couldn't believe the swirls were actually real.

On my feet were…nothing.

"Why am I not wearing any shoes…?" I asked.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Here," said Fiona, handing me two long, slimy, dark green pieces of…seaweed.

"Ew! What are these for?" I asked, handing them back to Fiona.

She giggled. "These are your shoes! Let me show you."

I sat down on a metal bench for her. Quickly but skillfully, she wrapped the seaweed around my feet in a strange pattern.

"There," she said, satisfied.

"These are my shoes?!" I asked.

"Yes, look down. They look like sandals, don't they? We call them wraps."

I looked down at my feet. The seaweed had been strategically crossed and wrapped around my feet, in a way that made it look like sandals.

"That's awesome! They actually look like real shoes!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course they do," Fiona said. "Do you think we'd let you go into the parade with globs of seaweed on your feet?"

I laughed, and then noticed something.

"How come you don't have a Capitol accent?"

Fiona blushed. "Well, I grew up in District 10," she said.

"Seriously?!"I gaped.

"Yup,"

"So you know the tributes?"

"Oh yes," Fiona replied sharply.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"I just hope she wins," said Fiona.

"Who?"

There was a long pause.

"My sister."

I gasped sharply.

"Which one is she?"'

Another long pause.

"Kieran."

My jaw dropped. "She's…she's your sister?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was going to ask her to be my ally. She's only 12, but she looks powerful."

"You'd really do that for me-for her?" Fiona asked hoarsely. "You'd protect her?"

"Of course," I replied gently.

Fiona gave me a small smile, but it was a smile that said everything that she couldn't put into words; her sorrow for her sister, her thanks to me, and all of that fluff that really meant a lot.

Shaking her head, Fiona and my prep team, who had been silent up until that point, began to work on me again. They wrapped a long, celeste blue, shimmery cape around my shoulders. There was a loud snap, making me jump.

"What was that?" I squeaked, my heart beating rapidly.

"That was just the magnets that keep the cape in place," Lion said, laughing.

"Oh, uh, just working on my reflexes," I joked, although it was kind of a sinister joke when you thought about it.

The cape was very long, but fit my shoulders and back perfectly.

"Won't this drag on the ground, or catch on the chariot?" I asked, worried.

"Oh no," replied Fiona. "When you walk, it will float out behind you. There is special thread woven into the cape that will push it up slightly when it gets too close to the chariot. You wouldn't_ believe_ all of the small safety things we have to put into your outfits."

I was kind of stunned by this. I always thought that being a stylist was kind of a job for just fashion crazy people, but a lot of thought was actually put into it. Who knew Capitol people could be so smart?

For fun, I fluttered my eyelashes, sending a deluge of sparkles down onto my already sparkly dress.

"I love my eyelashes!" I squealed again.

Kharmen giggled. Another pet peeve about Capitol people; why did they laugh so much? I guess it was to increase their lifespan, which laughing could do. That plus plastic surgery probably kept them young forever…

"We forgot to paint your toenails!" Awuor said all of a sudden.

The rest of my prep team clucked their tongues, and got to work painting my toenails with dark blue and green sparkles.

Finally, they stood up.

"Done?" I asked, hopefully.

"Yes!" They chimed together.

I smiled at them, and then got one last look in the mirror.

I looked amazing. The cape could've been a slightly childish look, but Fiona and Cassia had pulled it off very nicely, to the point where it was sophisticated. My hair looked perfect, and so did my amazing ocean dress. According to Fiona, there was more to the dress that we would find out later. Everything just looked so _right._

A little _ping_sounded in the room.

"Time to go!" Fiona said. "The parade starts in an hour."

I took one last look at myself. Taking a deep breath, I turned around.

"I'm ready to go," I said.

"Don't be nervous, you'll do great!" Fiona said, reaching out and squeezing my hand.

I squeezed her hand back, but didn't say anything. The parade could be the difference between life and death; it was all about winning sponsors.

I pushed the thoughts away, and let Fiona lead me out of the room.


	28. Chapter 25 - Adrielle's POV

...

Hey guys,

You know how I said how we're going to have another little jump?  
Well, right now, Adrielle and Vala are getting ready to board the chariot.

Read on!

_-Kat_

...

**Chapter 25 – ****Adrielle's POV (Alternate Ending)**

I felt the soft brushes working on my arms and legs.

"There, you're now sparkling blue," Accalia said excitedly.

"Are you sure I'm not _too_ sparkly?" I asked worriedly. Accalia always thought you can never be sparkly _enough._

"No, honey. You look great!" Awuor, one of Vala's prep team members, said. _I didn't trust her judgment._

"Cassia?" I called to my stylist. "Too much?" I asked her. She was the only person who I trusted from the Capitol.

"No, you look perfect," she replied.

"Tem minutes," a female voice announced from the speakers.

The room turned into chaos in seconds. Stylists and prep teams hurrying to make the final adjustments to the tributes' costumes, other people running and spilling supplies, screaming, shouting.

Cassia, Galla, Andromeda, and Accalia surrounded me. Galla put final touches to my face, darkening my mascara, eyeliner, and the gold swirls on my face. Accalia inspected my nails and put on a fresh coat of clear polish. Andromeda sprayed and darkened the blue tinted hair on my head. And Cassia, adjusted my cape, dress, and fetched a remote.

Once they were all done, Fiona -Vala's stylist- and prep team came over to me and inspected me. My prep team and Cassia did the same to Vala.

Fiona looked at my dress and made a few compliments, I replied thank you to every one of them. Kharmen commented on how she _adored_ my hair, she told me her favorite color was blue. _No, I didn't know that. I couldn't tell because you have a head full of blue hair,_ I thought sarcastically. Awuor loved the swirls on my face.

"You and Vala have the same swirls!" Awuor exclaimed.

I looked over to Vala; I hadn't got a good look at her yet. Her face _was_ covered in the same swirls like mine. She also had little blue and purple swirls by the side of her eyes. Her face was like mine, sparkling gold too.

Her hair was up in her usual ponytail. This time though, it was neater and not as sporty looking. I smiled a little to myself, _at least something was different._

Her costume was _exactly_ like mine. Same celeste cape. Same dress. Same colors. Same everything. I scowled;_ I hate it when people match._

"I love your skin!" A guy, Cassius, said touching my arms. He gasped, "It's so soft! How is it so soft?" He asked. "Auwor! Kharmen! Fiona! Feel it!"

They did, they ran their hands on my arms. They commented on how soft it was like Cassius did.

Cassius went to Cassia and asked how they got my skin that soft.

"The scanner. We used the scanner on her," Accalia chipped in before Cassia could reply. Cassia nodded in approval.

Cassius went back to Fiona, Auwor, and Kharmen. "They used the scanner!"

"The scanner…?" Auwor said, thinking for a minute.

"That's what we forgot to use on Vala!" Kharmen said, "I knew we were forgetting something."

Fiona glared at them, Vala's prep team put on sheepish smiles and mumbled sorry.

"Tributes, on the chariots," the same female voice before announced.

"Hurry!" Auwor exclaimed. Vala, Cassia, Fiona, and all the members of our prep teams ran to the chariots that were pulling up.

The chariots pulled up in the District order. District 1's chariot came up first. It was gold and covered in different colors of jewels. The horses were also painted in gold. Everyone looked at the chariot n astonishment. The tributes for District 1 this year, Amber and Chiffon, flashed everyone smug smiles as they boarded up the chariots. Amber and Chiffon were both wearing short, poofy, gold dresses that sparkled crazily when light was shone on them.

Their dresses were cute, definitely something I would wear, but I wasn't a bit jealous of them. I loved my costume just the way it was.

District 2's chariot pulled up next. The chariot was silver with little accents of gold and copper. Amaya and Blair, this year's tributes, were wearing copper colored dresses that went up to their knees. The top part of the dress was plated with gold.

Amber and Chiffon shot them angry glares then kept their focus ahead. Their stylists did the same. I laughed, everyone looked at me weirdly.

"Didn't you guys see that?" I asked Vala quietly.

"The glares?" Vala asked quietly, fighting a smile. I nodded in approval and laughed, Vala joined in.

"There's your chariot!" Accalia squealed.

_Our chariot was breath-taking. _

The chariot was made of glass. We could see the inside, which was filled with water and little animals from the ocean. There were seahorses, baby dolphins, coral, shells and starfish. The wheels were also made of glass, which worried me. _What if we hit a little rock on the road and the whole wheel shatters?_

"Nothing there will shatter," Cassia whispered in my ear. I jumped a foot in the air.

"How did you know about what I was thinking about again?" I asked, very surprised.

"I could read your expression; it was like when you were frowning at the dress," Cassia said.

"Am I that obvious?" I asked worriedly, I didn't want people to read me so easily.

"No, I guess not," Cassia said.

"But how…?" I asked in confusion.

"I'm very observant most of the time," she told me.

I nodded, I had a feeling she told me that just to make me feel better. _You have to work on presenting yourself so you won't be read easily,_ a little voice in my mind said. I agreed with it, it won't be very helpful in the Games if everyone can find out my plans.

I studied the chariot again. I noticed pulling the chariot were, "Are those-"

"_Unicorns!"_ Vala exclaimed.

I tittered quietly at Vala's comment. She can be a child more than me sometimes.

I stood there for a second, and then ran to board the chariot. I wanted to stand inside it. Vala followed behind me, at the same pace. I could tell she was as excited as me.

"Careful!" Cassia advised in her melodic voice.

Standing on the chariot was amazing. The little fish swimming under my feet amused me. _It's like I was standing on solid ice, _I thought. I looked more closely into the chariot. The coral were wondrous. It was filled with various colors, colors you could not see in the rainbow.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Vala said trying to start a conversation, breaking my out of my trance.

"Hmmm?" I asked, "Oh. Yeah. Sure," I replied simply. I wasn't in the mood to talk to her. I was still mad about us matching.

I turned my attention up front and looked at the horses. The horses were celeste blue, like our cape. The horses had little rainbow horns sticking up from the middle of their foreheads. I smiled, and then fought a giggle unsuccessfully. A little squeak came out of my mouth, and then more and more giggles followed out. Vala looked at me, and then noticed what I was laughing about. She joined in.

"That's cute," said Vala.

I stopped laughing, my face showing no joy, only showing a blank expression. I pressed my lips together sternly and nodded. I looked ahead, studying the 'unicorns' again.

"What's wrong?" Vala asked me a minute later.

I glared at her and said nothing in response.

"Stop being like that," she said, touching my arm.

"Like what?" I snapped, brushing off her hand on my arm.

"Your attitude. You didn't have one before," Vala snapped back at me. "Why do you have one now?"

"Val, we have 3 days before we go into the Games." I said, my voice turning into cold, hard, steel. "Don't you think it would be good to be less…" I said trying to find a word.

"Benign?" Vala suggested.

"I have no idea what benign means," I snapped.

"It means to be-" I put my hand up to stop one of her long definitions. _It annoyed me whenever she launched into a paragraph that she only understands. _Vala glared at me, having no effect on me. Her glares didn't mean much to me.

"I think it would be good if we, or _I_," I said, dragging the I, "were less soft," I continued in my steel voice.

"And I think that we could actually win this thing if we work together!" She exclaimed. "I just want my friend back," she added, almost in audible. I detected desperation in her voice. I laughed a little in my head. A small smile almost escaped my lips, but I covered it up with a hard glare and turned away.

"Don't think you can throw one of your diva fits now," Vala snapped at me.

I almost laughed again_, diva fits. Is that what she thought of me now? A diva?_

"Because I'm not going to fall for it. Just work with me here, and we can do this! Look, I'm sorry you have to be here! I know that you're mad at me for it, but it's not like I'm enjoying this more than you are! It's not like I ran up to Snow, begging him to put us in the Games! Just please, please try to get along with me. Be whatever you want to be towards other people, but cooperate with me," Vala said snarling the last three words.

_She was pleading for me to be nice. How sweet, _a part of my brain thought. _It's not sweet, just work with her. Don't make her suffer. She's your friend,_ the other part of my brain argued.

I pursed my lips and turned around. I decided that I would work with her. I was in on the idea, but not really.

"Depends. I'll probably be nice _most of the time," _I bargained.

She glared at me, clearly no happy with the offer.

"To you," I added. "Don't be very surprised if I'm not though," I said almost too happily.

"Fine!" Vala gave in. "As long as we get along in the Arena," she added countering my offer.

_Sure, we can work in the Arena. I need help to win,_ I thought.

"Ugh," I said making a fake disgusted face.

I saw Vala smile a little at that. She knew I was 'giving in.'

"Fine. Once in the Arena, I'll get _'along,'_" I said, dragging the word along, "with you."

"Good," Vala said almost too smug.

"_But,_" I said playing with the word happily. "That doesn't mean I'll get along with the other tributes," I continued, laughing. I was pretty sure my laugh sounded crazy. But I didn't care; I was having too much fun on the idea.

"Thanks," Vala said as she eyed me.

She hugged me, I stood stiffly. But then I hugged her back, I need my role to be convincing. And I was pretty sure we would never hug again, for that matter.

"We need to make a plan. Soon," Vala whispered in my ear before we broke apart.

"Okay. I'll ask Finnick if he can stay up with us and help us form a plan," I said happily.

"Aw, isn't that nice. Little friends hugging each other," a redheaded girl said from a chariot behind us. Luckily, their chariot was only a couple of feet from us so no one else but Vala and I heard.

I stiffened and glared at the redhead.

"Damn," Vala muttered.

"Yeah. What a bitch," I muttered, agreeing with Vala. "See? That's what happens when you're too 'benign.'" I told her, irritation filling my voice.

Vala gave me a sheepish smile and whispered back, "Fine, we can be more parsimonious then."

"I don't even want to know that that means," I snapped hotly.

She gave me a grin.

"You guys are best friends right?" The same girl taunted us.

"Watch out District 5," I spat out crossly at her. I glanced at Vala, who was looking at me with a surprised expression on her face, and grinned. I walked off the chariot, feeling appeased with the idea that I thought of.

I walked –almost happily skipped– to District 2's chariot.

"Blair," I said, my voice filling with thick sweetness.

Blair turned around and smiled. "Adrielle right?" She said in a honey sweet voice.

I smiled –glad she knew me – and said, "I just wanted to say that I call that redheaded ass from District 5 over there," I said happily. "For the bloodbath."

She smiled at me, but not in a kind way. A mischievous way, like the smile I give to Vala often. "I like you," she said happily. "And yes, she can be your…" she said, trying to find a word, "first kill." She said clearly excited.

I nodded buoyantly, "See you in training," I said as I smiled spitefully. Blair grinned at me back.

I was starting to like Blair. In a mental-girl-who-gets-excited-for-the-hunger-games kind of way. I guess I was mental too, because right now I felt blithe about the Games.

I walked away from Blair and headed back towards mine. I was still smiling humming happily when Vala helped me up to our chariot.

"What were you talking about with Blair?" She asked me, almost worried. Almost _suspicious_.

"Oh nothing," I hummed. "Something about us wanting to be her allies," I continued.

Vala pushed me hard onto the side of the chariot; I glared at her but didn't fight back. I didn't want to waste any energy on her.

"No you weren't. Don't lie to me. I heard what you said," Vala hissed quietly.

"So…?" I said, trying her.

Vala thought for a moment, her angered face softening just a tad. "It was perfect," she said sounding surprised that the words slipped out of her mouth. "Good thinking," Vala muttered a second later.

I laughed quietly, triumphant. _I am brilliant if I do say so myself,_ I thought.

"Thank you," I said smugly. I sounded almost like the Capitol citizens that were surrounding us now.

"Just, please promise me that you won't lie anymore?" Vala asked me, pleading again. "That's the only thing I'm mad about. Tell me the truth from now on," She continued.

I thought about her offer, "Yes," I said hesitantly. "But you do know there are things that I won't tell you right?"

Vala looked hurt, but then nodded. "You won't lie to me though, right?" She asked me hopefully.

I nodded slowly. "Unless it's extremely important," I said.

"No, especially that. You _have_ to tell me," she said.

"Let's just see," I said. "It depends, okay?" I asked, this time it was me pleading. I didn't want her to know everything anymore. Ever since we've met, she has known anything and everything about me.

We stayed silent, I felt like I need to break the silence. I felt like I hurt Vala more this time, about me not trusting her anymore. I _did_ trust her; it's just that I wasn't comfortable about her knowing everything anymore. But I couldn't tell her that, I can. But I just choose not to.

"Blair did really seem to like me…it's good to already have a place in the Games," I mumbled quietly, trying to break the heavy silence between me and Vala.

"Good. I'll have to do some of that too if we're going to be in this together," said Vala, happiness filling her voice. She thinks I finally decided to work with her now. I may have, but I was still not sure.

I scowled immediately when she said that she'd have to fawn over Blair just like I did. But I didn't fawn over Blair. What I did was natural. I did want to be friends with her. She would've seemed like a nice girl if she wasn't thrown into the Games. In the Arena though, I know she'd show her true colors.

It was a reflex; the scowl. A scowl just appeared on my face whenever someone imitated me. I quickly fixed the scowl into a small smile. I tried to show Vala that I wasn't that much _acute_ about everything now that I talked things out with her.

"Ready?" Vala asked me as the chariot was slowly drifting forward.

I smiled and said, "Yup. Let's go show those Capitol people that we aren't just a piece of their Games."

I turned and focused up front. Before I turned, I caught Vala smile at what I said. I had to smile a little too.

"The gate will open in 5…4…3…2…1," the same female voice from before announced.

The gate veered ajar, exposing the hundreds – no, it was millions – of crazed Capitol citizen waiting for this year's tributes, including _me_. Noise from the balmy citizens filled the whole room that we stood in.

The noise made me delighted. I suddenly wanted to go out there before any of the other tributes can show themselves.

District 1 first went out. Chiffon and Amber smiled, waved, and blew kisses. Lights shone on their jewel covered dresses making them blaze to life.

Then District 2 shortly followed suit. Blair and Amaya did the same as Chiffon and Amber. Blair dazzled everyone with her blinding smile. Their costumes made them look like war princesses. The copper color on the dress made them gleam bronze because of the lights that were trained on them. The top part of the dress, which was plated with gold, showed intricate carvings and swirls.

I blinked, making my eyelashes throw another shower of sparkles. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the huge crowd. District 3 had already gone out, their silver dresses sparkling.

Our chariot lurched forward; we were now in front of the huge door that led into the parade. It was now our turn.

"Be parsimonious," Vala whispered to me.

"I still don't know –"

"Allow me to elucidate," Vala replied using another of the fancy words.

"I don't know what that means either!" I whispered, very confused.

Vala laughed, I joined in. Though I still didn't know what the word meant.

We both fixed our postures and held our chins up high as the horse, or '_unicorns_' as Vala put it, went out to the parade…

….

_Ooh! What do you think will happen?  
Well, I'm working on the next chapter right now!_

_-Kat_

…...


	29. Chapter 26 - Vala's POV

_Okay! Here's the parade, people! *SQUEAL!* I hope you like it. Oh, and by the way, we don't know HOW they got to the parade, so there's another jump. Sorry. Also, this chapter is going to be slightly…er…colorful ;)The Games are starting to hit them…READ NOW…_

_-ArianaWeasly_

**Chapter 25 - ****Vala's POV**

_Swish, swish, swish._

The brush moved back and forth across my skin, tickling me. I giggled.

The swishing stopped.

"What is it?" Awuor asked, as she set down the brush.

"It tickles," I said.

Awuor rolled her eyes, and got back to work, saying "It didn't tickle _Kenn._"

I suppressed another giggle. Why was I laughing so much?

"There," said Awuor, satisfied.

Awuor had been brushing small blue sparkles, all over my skin. I looked down. You didn't notice them until I moved. They would sparkle and dance when I moved, but were still when I just stood there.

Across the room, Accalia, one of Adrielle's prep team members, had finished doing the same thing to Adrielle.

"Are you sure I'm not too sparkly?" Adrielle asked, worried.

Awuor crossed over to Adrielle, saying, "No, honey, you look great!"

"Cassia?"Adrielle called to her stylist, not listening to Awuor, "Too much?"

"No, you look perfect," Cassia replied. "So do you," she added, looking at me.

I saw Adrielle scowl at this.

_What was wrong with Adrielle? She had scowled when she had first seen me. She didn't talk to me much. What was weird was she hadn't asked me how she looked. Normally she would've asked me, not Cassia, if it was too much. I wonder what was going on in Adrielle's mind._

"10 minutes," a female voice announced from the speakers.

All of a sudden the room broke into chaos, with stylists and prep teams running around, making final touches to everybody's outfits, and at the same time screaming at each other to bring them this and that. Fiona, Lion, Awuor, and Kharmen surrounded me. Fiona adjusted my dress, and ran off muttering something about a remote. Lion darkened and added sparkles to the highlights in my hair, and then made sure each strand of hair was where it should be. Awuor added more sparkles to my eyelashes, and then darkened the swirls on my face. Kharmen put a coat of protective polish over my nails, so I wouldn't chip the designs.

Finally Fiona came back with a small gray rectangle in her hand.

"What's that?" I asked, but she just shook her head with a small smile.

"You look great," was all she said.

Then she and my prep team flocked over to Adrielle, while Adrielle's prep team and stylist came over to me.

"You have such good skin!" Squealed one named Andromeda. "That's a shame; they didn't use the scanner on you though. Not that you need it."

"What's a-" I started to ask, but I was interrupted by Accalia.

"Oh you look so gorgeous! Who did your hair?"

"Cassius," I said, careful not to say Lion.

I could've sworn Accalia's cheeks flushed slightly as I mentioned his name.

"Oh, I love your colorful swirls!" Galla exclaimed. "Adrielle only has the gold one."

I looked over to Adrielle at that, and saw her staring at me with a small scowl on her face. Quickly, I looked away.

"You look wonderful, Val!" Cassia said to me. "Now go knock 'em dead!"

"Er, I was kind of hoping to do that in the Arena actually," I joked.

Cassia burst out laughing. She had a very melodic laugh that made you feel wonderful inside.

I noticed Adrielle look over at me again with a frown on her face. _Yeah, I made your stylist laugh, so what?_ I couldn't help but think. As if reading my mind, Adrielle quickly turned back towards Fiona, who was glaring at my prep team about something. _Probably the scanner_, I thought.

"Tributes, on the chariots," the same female voice announced, in an overly soothing way.

"Hurry!" I heard Awuor squeak from all the way across the room.

Adrielle's prep team ushered me over to all the chariots that were pulling up. I stood next to Adrielle and waited for the chariots.

The first one that pulled up was from District 1. The chariots always went in order of the District number. The chariot was gold, and encrusted with thousands of jewels. The horses that pulled their chariot were covered in gold. Everybody gasped as they saw it, and Amber and Chiffon climbed into the carriage with identical smug smiles plastered on their faces. Obviously they thought they had the most supremacy of all of us. They were both wearing short, poofy, gold dresses that sparkled so much you wouldn't have noticed them in a glitter factory. They were hideous, but I caught Adrielle eyeing them.

Then District 2's chariot pulled up. It was silver, with small gold and copper accents. District 2 always tried to show off their wealth. Amaya and Blair climbed into the carriage. They were wearing copper colored dresses that went down to their knees. The top part of the dress was gold plated.

Amber and Chiffon glared at them, and then looked straight ahead. So did their stylists.

I stifled another urge to laugh, but Adrielle let out a loud snort and started to crack up. Everybody looked at her weirdly.

"Didn't you guys see that?" Adrielle said to me.

"The glares?" I asked.

Adrielle nodded and we both burst out laughing. Whatever had been rubbing Adrielle the wrong way earlier had passed._Hopefully._

"There's your chariot!" Accalia squealed suddenly.

We all gasped, even the tributes from other districts. The chariot was amazing.

The whole chariot was made out of glass, and it had been carved into elegant swirls, that looked like waves frozen in mid-air. Inside the glass was water. The water was filled with everything oceany; coral, fish, shells, seahorses, starfish, and even baby dolphins. The wheels were made of glass too, but they went over bumps smoothly without breaking. Pulling the carriage were-

"Unicorns!" I squealed.

Everybody looked at me and cracked up.

They did look like unicorns. The horses, or unicorns, were ocean blue, with a rainbow horn on their head. Their tails and manes were a dark purple, while their hooves were green.

I heard whispering over to my left and saw Adrielle talking to Cassia. They were probably talking about the chariot. Of course Adrielle couldn't talk to _me_ about it.

"In the chariot!" said Fiona.

Excitedly, I walked towards the chariot. Adrielle was fast-walking at the same pace I was, as we were both eager to be in it. I, being nice, let Adrielle get in before me. She scrambled in to it. I followed her up.

"Careful!" Cassia called to us.

It was like walking on water to be standing in that chariot. Little fish and seahorses were swimming contentedly underneath my seaweed wrapped feet. I looked underneath the fish, at the bottom of the chariot, and saw little colorful corals. The corals came in all shapes, sizes, and even colors. Colors I didn't even know existed were there.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" I said to Adrielle.

"Hmm?" she asked, even though I knew she had heard me. "Oh yeah. Sure."

I guess she hadn't gotten over what had happened earlier. Whatever that was…

I looked over at Adrielle again. She was staring at the unicorns. She hadn't noticed them earlier?

All of a sudden she started giggling. I couldn't help but join in too. It was nice to finally let my weird laughing urge out.

"That's cute," I said, calming down.

Adrielle stopped laughing immediately. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

I frowned. What was up with Adrielle? I guess what she hadn't gotten over whatever had happened earlier. I could feel anger bubbling up inside of me, like a little monster about to attack, but I pushed it away. There would be time for anger later.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

Adrielle just glared at me.

"Stop being like that," I said, touching her arm.

"Like what?" Adrielle snapped as she pushed my hand off, even though she knew perfectly well what I was talking about.

"Your attitude. You didn't have one before," I snapped back at her. "Why do you have one now?"

"Val, we have 3 days before we go into the Games," Adrielle said coldly. "Don't you think it would be good to be less…"

"Benign?" I suggested.

"I have no idea what benign means," Adrielle said.

"It means to be-"

Adrielle put her hand up, stopping me mid-sentence. Surprised, I glared at her. She had _never _interrupted one of my rambles before.

"I think it would be good if we, or _I_, were less soft," she said in a steely voice.

"And _I_," I said, dragging out the I just like Adrielle had, "think that we could actually win this thing if we worked together!" I replied in an even steelier voice.

"I just want my friend back." I added quietly, trying to keep every ounce of desperation out of my voice. I really did need Adrielle; the Games would fall apart for me if we weren't friends.

The ghost of a smile played across Adrielle's lips, but she quickly corrected it and turned away. I was appalled. Was she _playing_ with me? Was she trying to make me get down on my knees and beg for her to be my friend? I can tell you right now, I was not going to do that.

"Don't think you can throw one of your diva fits now" I snapped,"because I am not going to fall for it. Just work with me here, and we can do this! Look, I'm sorry you have to be here! I know that you're mad at me for it, but it's not like I'm enjoying this more than you are! It's not like I ran up to Snow, begging him to put us in the Games! Just please, please try to get along with me. Be whatever you want to be towards other people, but cooperate with me," I said, snarling the last three words.

Adrielle turned around, her lips pursed. I could tell she was thinking.

"Depends. I'll probably be nice _most of the time._"

I glared at her. Most of the time was not enough in the Arena.

"To you." She added. "Don't be surprised if I'm not though."

_Was that happiness in her voice?_ I thought angrily. I guess I'd just have to play her game for her.

"Fine!" I snapped. "As long as we get along in the Arena."

Adrielle turned around again, her back facing me. She was silent for a few minutes. Finally she turned back around.

"Ugh, fine. Once we're in the Arena I'll get along. With you," she gave in.

"Good."

"BUT, that doesn't mean I have to get along with the other tributes," she added, with a mischievous grin.

_Like hell you won't,_ I thought.

Adrielle began to laugh for no reason. Her laugh sounded mad, like she wasn't all there in the head.

"Thanks for agreeing to get along with me," I said, feeling happier than I had in days. Even if she was going slightly insane, even if she was playing her own little game with me, that didn't mean I couldn't fight back. I could toy with her as much as she was toying with me. At least she had decided to get along with me, that part was at least true, I hoped.

I hugged her, to play up my act a little more. I also really just needed a hug at the moment. She was stiff at first, but then she loosened up and hugged me back. Before we broke apart, I whispered "We need to make a plan. Soon."

"Okay. I'll ask Finnick if he can stay up with us and help us form a plan," Adrielle whispered back.

"Aw, isn't that nice. Little fwends hugging each other," a voice sneered from behind us.

We stiffened, and turned around to face the carriage behind us. In it, was a redheaded girl, who was giving us a sickly sweet smile that had hate plastered all over it. At first I was afraid that she had heard our plans, but once I looked at her more closely, I figured she was just messing with us.

"Damn," I whispered angrily.

"Yeah. What a bitch. See? That's what happens when you're too 'benign'." Adrielle whispered to me.

I gave her a sheepish smile and whispered back, "Fine, we can be more parsimonious then,"

"I don't even want to know what that means," Adriellereplied hotly.

I grinned at her.

The redheaded girl spoke up again. "You guys are best friends, right?" she taunted.

"Watch out District 5," Adrielle said threateningly.

I agreed with Adrielle, but I was surprised to see her so malicious. Usually I was the one that would do all of the arguing and threatening. Adrielle just gave me one of her mischievous smiles, and walked off the carriage.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

Adrielle didn't say anything, and just kept walking. She was going towards District 2's carriage. I knew this was something she didn't want me to hear, a part of her game, so naturally I strained my ears to hear everything.

"Blair," I heard Adrielle say, her voice dripping with honey.

"Adrielle, right?" said a sweet voice that probably belonged to Blair.

"I just wanted to say that I call that redheaded ass from District 5 over there," I heard Adrielle say faintly. "I call her for the bloodbath."

My blood went cold. Was Adrielle going _insane_? What happened to the sweet little girl who was too nice to kill a spider? Now she was going around, calling dibs on people, pulling off acts of temerity.

I heard Blair say something, so I strained my ears again, "I like you," was what she said. "And yes, she can be your…first kill."

I stood there, stunned. Even though what Adrielle was doing was so wrong, so evil, so terrible, at the same time, it was the right thing to do. We would have to sweet talk the other Careers, get them to like us, and then kill them. I shuddered. It was so wrong, but so right. I would have to pull some "Adrielle"s soon; I'd have to be parsimonious. It was the only option if I was going to come out of this thing alive. It was the only option for me if I was going to play my game.

Turning around quickly, for I had just heard Adrielle saying good bye to Blair, I faced the District 5 carriage.

"You better watch your back Red, or sooner or later your hair won't be the only thing that's bleeding," I spat at the redheaded girl.

She gave me a surprised look, trying to cover up her fear, but I could still sense it in her. Good.

Turning around, I greeted Adrielle as she climbed back into the carriage. I helped her up. She was humming happily for some reason, and I could tell that she hadn't heard what I said to the red haired girl.

"What were you talking about with Blair?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Something about her wanting to be ," Adrielle lied happily.

I shoved her against the side of the carriage and whispered furiously, "No you weren't. Don't lie to me. I heard what you did."

"So…?" she demanded defiantly.

"It was perfect," I said, sounding insane even to myself. "Good thinking."

"Thank you," Adrielle said smugly.

"Just, please promise me that you won't lie anymore? That's the only thing I'm mad about. Tell me the truth from now on," I whispered.

Adriellecontemplated my request for a few seconds. "Yes," she began hesitantly, "But you do know that there are things I won't tell you, right?"

I felt hurt, but nodded. "You won't lie to me though, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Unless it's extremely important," Adrielle said slowly.

"No, especially that. You _have_ to tell me," I said.

"Let's just see. It depends, okay?" Adrielle replied.

I felt even more hurt, but I went along with it. I knew everything about Adrielle already, so it felt unusual to not know something about her. Under normal circumstances, I would've argued with her last offer. I only agreed because I had my own secret that she didn't know about. She didn't even know I _had_ a secret…quickly; I refocused my mind on something else. My secret was too painful to think about right now.

We stayed silent for a few minutes after that, both deep in thought. My mind was busy pushing away the secret, while Adrielle's was…actually, I don't know what Adrielle was thinking about. Usually I could. I guess this was a new type of thinking for her.

"Blair did really seem to like me," Adrielle mumbled suddenly. "It's good to already have a place in the Games,"

She seemed really happy. I guess I would be too if I was in her shoes.

I smiled. "Good. I'll have to do some of that too if we're going to be in this together."

Adrielle scowled. I ignored her. She hated it when people copied her. I wasn't copying though; I was using her strategy to help _us_ win the Games. At least I hoped it was still got so _sore_ about everything lately.

"Ready?" I said, as our chariot began to inch forward.

Adrielle gave one of her sullen nods, but then corrected herself and said, "Yup. Let's go show those Capitol people that we aren't just a piece of their Games."

I smiled.

The chariot moved slowly forward, and then stopped. We had moved closer to the gate that was in front of the first 3 chariots. The gate was a shiny, polished gold, and had a large Capitol seal engraved on it.

"The gate will open in 5…4…3…2…1," the female voice announced.

The gate opened slowly, and the roar of the rowdy crowd greeted us. The first chariot went out. If I strained my neck, I could see Amber and Chiffon waving to the crowd, their bejeweled dresses sparkling like stars on steroids. 15 seconds later, the chariot from District 2 followed it. Blair and Amaya's gold plated dresses revealed detailed designs that had been carved into the shiny metal. They smiled brilliant smiles, and the crowd went crazy. Then District 3 left, looking smart as usual in their sparkly silver dresses.

Finally it was our turn to go out.

"Be parsimonious," I whispered to Adrielle.

"I still don't know-"

"Allow me to elucidate," I cut in with a grin.

"I don't know what that means either!" Adrielle whispered, aggravated.

I just laughed, and she began to laugh with me. We were still laughing as we straightened our shoulders and glided out to greet the screaming crowd.

_Hah. Tricked you. The chapter ends early __You already knew that though, after reading the last chapter. So the NEXT chapter will have the parade. Yeah._

_What do you think of Val's POV on the whole insane Adrielle thing? Don't ask me what's going on in Adrielle's mind…even I don't know. All I can tell you is that I think Adrielle is becoming a physco path._

_Blame KatnissTheGirlOnFire19 :D_

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

_-ArianaWeasly_


	30. Chapter 27 - Adrielle

…...

Hey guys,

So…I have _A LOT_ of homework. _Like A LOT_. So, I wouldn't be able to get that much chapters done. ArianaWeasly can't either. I can write more than her.

I was thinking that I would upload chapters 27 and 29 with Adrielle's POV and without Vala's POV. Yeah. Is that okay? I would still have to talk about it to ArianaWeasly though. Just warning you guys.

ANYWAYS…READ ON!

_-Kat_

…...

**Chapter 27 – ****Adrielle's POV**

_The sound was unharmonious. _It was like a thousand dolphins crying and screaming for help. I had never heard that sound, but if I had, I was pretty sure that it would sound like this. It was as if they were using microphones, some of them did. Though I didn't know why, but it would've been better if they weren't. _It would be much much better. _

The chariot slowly picked up speed as we went down the conduit. District 3's chariot was far ahead of us, about a mile down the road. District 5 just went out of the golden gates that we came out of minutes ago.

I noticed that a big screen was placed above the runway the chariots were on. It let showed us each of the chariots, and then focused on only one. Now, it was focused on District 2. To Amaya and Blair. Blair still had her dazzling smile on her face, not faltering. It was like the big screen at the reaping, but way more bigger. There were also flags hung up every couple feet that let us see what was on the screen.

_The size of the crowd was overwhelming. _Capitol people surrounded on both sides of the chariot, left and right. They were screaming our names, their Capitol accents blended together sounded ridiculous.

The citizens wanted us to look in their directions. I tried, looking for left to right. Right to left. I waved, blew kisses, and flashed smiles. I even caught a couple of roses and a beautiful bracelet.

I looked at the direction the bracelet came from, I spotted a lady. She was sitting there, calm, not standing up, or screaming. She looked awfully normal, unlike the most of the people surrounding her. She had bronze-blond hair, light sea-green-blue eyes, and a familiar face. She looked about my mom's age, about a little younger. She was also very pretty, no doubt.

I noticed that she was smiling to me, and mouthed, _keep it._ Her smile filled me with warmness, like someone was wrapping me with a warm fuzzy blanket.

I didn't know how I caught all of this in seconds. It seemed like time slowed down when I was looking at her. It might have been my imagination, but I was pretty sure she was real. The bracelet was still in my hand, very real and warm. I looked at it, it was a charm bracelet. With only one charm, which was a pretty looking light blue shell.

I looked back up, but we already passed the spot I saw the lady in. I still tried searching for her, I got no luck.

Vala nudged me, "Hey. What's wrong?" She asked me, concern filling her voice.

"Nothing," I said. Nothing _was_ wrong. I'd just gotten a bracelet for a lady in the crowd that looked familiar. _I just had a strong sense that I should've known her. She looked very familiar, like she was a distant memory._ I just couldn't put my finger on who she was supposed to be. _It was like the tip of my tongue, but now it's on the tip of my brain._ Maybe I didn't know her, but still.

I tried to find a pocket on the dress. There wasn't any, of course not. _What kind of dress has pockets?_ I thought, scolding myself. I decided that I would just wear the bracelet, so I chained it on my right wrist. I finally returned back to the world, trying not to be distracted by the light tugging sensation in my mind.

The crowd got suddenly louder. Their screams amplified and they grew more crazed. My ears popped at the sound, though I can still hear. _Thank god,_ I thought. But I wasn't that happy, I could still hear the Capitol citizens and their dolphin shrieks.

Vala nudged me again, and pointed at the big screen. I gasped; the cameras were focused on us. Or at least the _other_ us, the one Cassia and Fiona magically transformed. We were now on the big screen. But I wasn't gasping at that, I knew they'd catch the sight of us sooner or later. I gasped at the dress. It was now _different_.

Our beautiful themed ocean dress was gone. I looked down on what I was wearing. I realized that it wasn't gone, but in was _invisible_. I looked back up at the screen. Now replacing the dress was a dark blue chiffon one. But it was plain, _that would be so abashing_, it was layered with another invisible material. The material was moving up and down, like _waves_. In the water were fish, sea horses, shells and coral.

My cape was the same, still shimmering the different shades of blue. But water now ran down it. It didn't splash us, for that I was very grateful.

Up at the big screen, my face looked perplexed. So did Vala's but hers was filled with bewilderment. I couldn't help but laugh. My face changed into an animated expression.

Vala frowned, and then smiled. "I can't believe this!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

_Finally, I got to be like Katniss. Way better even. I got more attention because of the changing dress and because of the water. I also got more sponsors, no doubt about that. _

I smiled out of joyfulness, "Me either. I can't believe Cassia and Fiona." Vala nodded and smiled.

The camera's focus was still on us, I spotted the camera. I looked at it in the eye and blew it a kiss. The crowd went wild. I grinned, and then I made a heart and blew another kiss. Vala did the same.

We kept going on like then, and then the camera captured every tribute's reaction. Most were scowling. Blair, Amaya, Amber, and Chiffon had jealousy plastered clearly on their faces. I nudged Vala, who was once again looking into the crowd, and pointed at the screen. We laughed at their reactions. After capturing every tribute's face, the camera once again focused on us.

I continued smiling, waving, and catching more roses. I hoped I got more sponsors. I probably did, because of all the attention on us. I _had_ to thank Cassia and Fiona for that. The crowd kept at their job, screaming at Vala and I.

I glanced behind me; District 5 was following us closely. Then behind them, the tributes of District 6. Then the rest of the other District tributes.

The chariot slowly fell to a stop. Vala poked me, and whispered, "Look!"

I did, in front of us, stood a huge Justice Building. 3 times bigger than the one back at home. A balcony almost as long at the building itself was attached to the building. There stood a throne, chairs, and a podium. In the throne, sat a man with snow white hair. _President Snow._ My mood immediately dimmed.

President Snow staggered slowly to the podium; please fall, I wished. But he didn't, I growled silently. I wanted him to fall and get humiliated. Or fall off the balcony, which would've been ever better, but her didn't.

President Snow still looked the same after being the president for years. He was getting old; no amount of surgery can hide away the wrinkles on his face.

The crowd died down to a quiet whispering, _which I didn't think was possible_, when President Snow appeared to the podium.

"Tributes, we welcome you," President Snow greeted us, once all the chariots surrounded the Justice Building in a semi-circle. "We salute the courage and your sacrifice," He continued. "And we wish you Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor." He said, finishing up. The crowd cheered, but not the tributes.

He then examined the tributes; he skipped us and saved us for last. His gaze focused on Vala for too long. Vala had a pique expression, the corners of her mouth curved downward. President Snow mouthed something to her that I didn't understand. I caught one word, _scissors._

I thought about that, _could he have found out that Vala threw scissors at his portrait? I didn't think so._ But I had a feeling he did, I shivered at the thought.

Vala looked at her hand; all the roses she held were red. Except one. It was white, as white as snow. She picked out the white one and inhaled the snow-white flower. Vala teetered and fell .

Snow-white flower…then it suddenly dawned on me. I looked at the pocket on President Snow's jacket. There laid a _snow-white_ flower. The exact same one that Vala had in her hand. _That Vala sniffed_.

I shot Snow a horrified look. Then I glared at him, like I was going to whip out a bow and arrow in shoot him in the heart. That sounded so good. I now wished that Cassia supplied a bow and arrow with our costume. Or a trident, I could throw a trident pretty good. _If only_, I wished. _I would be in jail, but I would gladly do it if he killed Vala_.

_Vala_, I thought suddenly. I whirled my head and loomed over her. "Vala! Vala!" I exclaimed, shaking her a bit. My voice was filled with panic. I Snow killed Vala, I would garb anything that I could throw and hurl it at Snow.

The cameras were suddenly trained on us, not President Snow.

"Are you okay?" I asked, panic still in my voice.

"Of-of course I'm-I'm okay," Vala gasped. Her body was shaking.

I didn't believe her. Suddenly I was raging with anger, but not because she lied to me. Suddenly, my hand whipped and hit her face.

"What was that for?" Vala asked her voice more clearly.

"Partly to wake you up, partly to be parsimonious, whatever that means," I said. "And partly because I've been very pissed at you lately, and I need to do that," I hissed at her.

I was partly lying. I was mad at her because I thought she died and left me alone. And because she left me to face the Games all by myself. I was also very glad that she was alive. _Of course she's alive,_ I thought_. Snow wouldn't kill her, if he did, he would have to find another victim. _

When my temperature decreased I helped her up.

"Thanks," Vala said gratefully.

"Anytime," I said.

Vala looked around, then stood straight up and muttered, "I hate Snow."

I hate him too, I muttered quietly. Too quiet that Vala or anybody else could've heard. I looked up at Snow. He was sitting in his throne, a triumphant look in his eyes. Mixed with a murderous gaze at Vala.

I shivered, and vowed to myself that one day I would kill him. Make him suffer and pay for all the lives he'd cost.

The chariots stopped and everyone stepped off. The room was filled with noise as prep teams, stylists, mentors, and escorts complemented the tributes. The noise in the room was almost as loud as the Capitol people cheering outside.

"That was amazing!"

"You guys looked gorgeous!"

"You guys were so pretty!"

Andromeda, Accalia, Galla, Cassius, Auwor, and Kharmen fawned over us when the chariot fully stopped.

"That was so fun!" I exclaimed breathlessly as I stepped off the chariot. Everyone laughed at my comment. I heard a familiar laugh in the crowd that gathered around Vala and I that belonged to a male. I looked around, I spotted Finnick. Right next to him was Hermia and Annie. I grinned at them.

"That was astonishing!" Hermia complemented Vala and I as she walked toward us. "Good job girls!" She continued, each giving us a loose hug.

"Hi Hermia," I greeted her.

"Hello honey, you looked beautiful out there!" Hermia replied. "Of course you too Vala," Hermia said after seeing Vala with a small glare. I chuckled quietly; I wasn't surprised that Hermia and Vala still aren't getting along.

Finnick and Annie walked up to us. "Nice work out there," Finnick said, grinning.

"Thanks," Vala and I beamed.

"You guys look so pretty," Annie complemented us.

"Thanks Annie," I said hugging her. I let go of Annie while Vala gave her a hug too. I can over to Cassia.

"Cassia!" I exclaimed, running to her. "Thank you so much! I love the dress! It's so amazing!" I continued, hugging her. "Thank you," I whispered, pouring all the happiness, nervousness, and anger into the words. The feelings I've felt mostly since I got reaped.

She laughed whole heartedly. "You are very welcome, I enjoyed making that dress." She replied in her natural melodic voice.

We pulled apart, out of the corner of my eye; I saw that Vala was talking to Finnick. He was steadying Vala while Annie was angrily stomping on the white rose Vala had. _Bad rose,_ I thought. I would've done the same thing, or would've done worse.

Vala and Finnick kept talking while Annie tore the rose apart with her feet. She muttered something angrily at the flower I couldn't make out. I looked back at Vala; I saw her looking cautiously at me. Then she looked away. Finnick then studied me like Vala, but with a frown on his face. I raised my eyebrows at him, and then he looked away. I decided that I would ignore him, but I knew that idea wouldn't last very long.

I looked away from him and flashed everyone a smile. "Thanks everyone," I said looking my prep team. "Thank you!" I exclaimed as I gave each one a hug.

"You're welcome!" my prep team exclaimed all together.

"Can I have another hug?" Accalia asked hopefully. I laughed; Accalia was one of my favorites, right after Cassia. I hugged her. "Thank you Accalia," I said.

"You're welcome!" She squealed again.

After we pulled apart, I went over to Fiona and Vala's prep team. "Good job on Vala," I complemented them. Auwor, Cassius, and Kharmen said 'thank yous,' and smiled at me gratefully.

"Oooh! This would look pretty in your hair!" Auwor said, picking up the pieces of the white rose from the ground.

I looked at Vala, who flashed me a worried glance. "No, that's okay. My hair's perfect the way it is," Vala said rushing the words out. She grimaced; I guessed that she was thinking about what happened.

Auwor sighed, but by the look on her face, I could tell that she wasn't damaged by what Vala thought of her suggestion. She put the pieces of the rose back on the ground. Annie picked them up and continued stomping on them.

A Capitol worker came to us, "Adrielle Waters and Vala Hearst?" She asked. She eyed curiously at Annie.

"Yes?" Vala and I said at the same time.

"Your car is ready," she replied before she walked away.

"Car?" Vala and I asked at the same time.

"The one that's taking you to your hotel," Cassia explained.

"Awesome," Vala grinned.

"Let's go!" I squealed.

Cassia, Fiona, Finnick, Annie and Hermia walked with Vala and I to the car. While our prep team trailed behind, chattering.

We stopped in front of a long black car. It was like the one I rode in before, but bigger.

"Will this be the last time I'll be seeing you guys?" I asked my prep team sadly. They're sometimes a pain. But they did everything they could to help me.

"Oh! No, no, no!" Accalia exclaimed. "We're going to help you get ready for the interviews!" Accalia continued.

"Yay!" I exclaimed in relief. My prep team grinned at me and each gave me a hug before I entered the car. Vala, Fiona, and Cassia said their 'good byes,' and 'see yous' before scooting next to me in the car. Hermia, Finnick, and Annie did the same before sliding into the seats in front of us. The seats faced us, so my stylists, Hermia, and mentors could chat about plans on the upcoming days.

I glanced at Vala who was sitting to the far left of me. She was looking out the window. I could tell she was looking for someone because of the strain I see in her eyes. I didn't know who she was looking hard for, I'm going to have to ask her later.

I closed my eyes, leaned back in me seat, and tuned out the voices of everyone who was talking. I thought about the lady who gave me the bracelet. I had forgotten about her until now.

I pictured her face, her skin tone almost porcelain white, like mine. She had green eyes with a mix of blue and full lips. Her hair was a mix of bronze and blond, the hair color I had always wished for. I pictured her saying, _keep it._ I replayed the scene over and over in my head, trying to find out who she was.

I looked harder, then before I looked away to examine the bracelet, I caught her saying something else. _I have something to tell you_, she mouthed. I opened my eyes, almost jumping out of my seat, and gasped out loud. Everyone turned to me with a curious expression.

"What's wrong?" Cassia asked.

"What? Oh, nothing…just…I just realized something," I said. I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes, and kept thinking. _Who was she? Why did she look so familiar?_

"We're here!" Hermia exclaimed.

I opened my eyes and glanced out the window. I didn't see anything but the street, some cafes and buildings. Then I got the idea that I should look out Vala's window. _Duh_, I scolded myself. Out there stood an elegant building.

I stepped out of the car, after Cassia. Then Annie, Finnick, and Hermia followed me behind. The building was _tall_. It went up to the sky, as far as I could see.

We went inside. It was _huge;_ it was almost as big as…I don't know. I've never seen a space inside this big.

"Whoa," Vala and I whispered quietly, out breaths knocked out of our lungs.

Hermia went up to a desk and grabbed the key for our _floor_, a whole floor to _ourselves_. Once Hermia was back, she led us into an elevator. The elevator was covered in gold. The walls were gold, making our reflections look gold. The buttons, the doors, _everything _was gold.

Everyone went in; I got squeezed between Finnick and Vala. I laughed quietly to myself. Hermia pressed the button that had the number 4 on it, then the elevator started moving slowly.

"This elevator must be broken. It's so slow," Hermia complained.

I sighed tiredly, and leaned back using the wall for my support.

"Tiring huh?" Finnick asked me his voice almost drowned out by Hermia, Cassia, and Fiona chatting.

I laughed, forgetting that I was supposed to ignore him. "Very," I replied.

"I've been through it twice," he said sadly.

"Twice…?" I asked, and then I remembered. "Oh," I said in a small voice.

He gave me a small smile. "You did good out there," he said.

"Thanks," I said smiling.

"You were very sparkly," he added.

I laughed, "It wasn't my fault. I think Accalia went a little overboard," I said.

He laughed, the sound spread through the elevator. Vala looked at me curiously; I gave her a small smile. _Plan, the plan_, Vala mouthed. _Midnight,_ she added.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Finnick, will you meet up with Vala and I to make a plan later on?"

"Yeah, after dinner?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe midnight," I said.

He nodded, then a little ding went off in the elevator.

The door opened, revealing out floor…

…...

_What do you think the floor looks like? I'm working on it right now! _

_Oh! And please, tell people about this story!  
We aren't gaining any readers. _

_Tell your friends about it, or advertise it. (I don't know how to advertise it)  
It will be greatly appreciated.  
So, please! _

_And my other story, The Reaping Tributes POVs, please read and advertise that too.  
And ArianaWeasly's story, of course! It's also called,_ The Reaping Tributes POVs.

_Thanks for reading everyone!_

_-Kat_

…...


	31. Chapter 28 - Vala's POV

…...

_Okay! Here's the actual parade! Read!_

_-ArianaWeasly_

…...

**Chapter 28 - ****Val's POV**

My hands twitched at my sides, straining to try to cover up my ears from the horrible sounds from the crowd. I twisted my fingers into the fabric of my dress, until the urge died down. I would just have to face the screeching of the crowd. The crowd sounded like the Capitol citizens we saw earlier, amped up about one billion times. It was terrible.

I forced myself to put on a dazzling smile though, and I beamed out to the crowd, and began waving. There were so many people in the crowd, all screaming, and jumping up and down. Some of them were carrying flags with District names on them; most were for District 2. The size of the crowd was gigantic though. There were so many rainbow people, that I couldn't even see how far they went out. Sparkles flew out from an unknown place, covering the crowd in a thin layer of glitter. I blinked, adding to the sparkles in the air.

Above the runway the chariots were on was a huge screen that showed the different chariots and tributes. There were also flags every few feet that showed what the screen showed. I noticed that right now the camera was still focused on District 2's chariot. Fighting back a scowl, I waved out to the crowed even more.

Adrielle and I began blowing kisses, and the crowd threw roses and other miscellaneous trinkets to us. I watched Adrielle catch a few items, so I reached out and snatched a few roses myself. All of a sudden, I caught somebody's eye in the crowd. The eyes were sea green, just like mine. The face looked almost like…feeling dizzy all of a sudden, I grabbed the side of the chariot. Goosebumps erupted all over my arms._It couldn't be…_I thought. I looked closer. No, it wasn't. There were too many differences for it to be…_no, it's not,_ I told myself firmly. _Now stop thinking about it and focus on the parade._

I turned around, and smiled at Adrielle, only to see her straining her neck to see something we had passed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I said to her, not bothering to whisper with the sound of the crowd drowning out anything I said.

"Nothing," said Adrielle, although she shifted her hand slightly. I glanced down at it and saw a bracelet. _Where'd that come from?_

I was distracted suddenly by the crowd's screaming getting louder. I looked up at the screen and saw that the camera was focused on Adrielle and I. Wait, was it us?

I nudged Adrielle questioningly. She looked confused, so I pointed up at the screen. We both stared at it, in awe. It_ was_us. But, what were we wearing? How had our outfits changed?

Our sparkly, ocean dresses had somehow turned invisible, with a layer underneath that was now visible. The bottom layer, a dark blue chiffon, served as a sort of backdrop for what was on top of it. What was on top of it was amazing. It was some sort of invisible material, like plastic, that contained water. The water was rippling up and down, like waves. In the water there were fish, sea horses, and coral. It was like a mini ocean on our bodies. Our capes hadn't changes, but they flew out valiantly behind us, shimmering with different colors of blue. Then water began to run off of our capes, streaming out behind our chariot. They weren't getting us wet, but I glanced behind me and noticed District 5's tributes were getting soaked.

Smiling a real smile for the first time in the parade, I looked back at Adrielle. She had a grin identical to mine. I knew she was thinking about Katniss, by the excited sparkle in her eye. We were both all smiles for the rest of the parade, especially when we noticed that the cameras had been focused on us for almost the entire duration of the parade. Looking back at the other chariots, I noticed that most of them were scowling at that.

"I can't believe this!" I shouted, throwing up my arms, making the crowd roar even more.

"Me either!" Adrielle said. "I can't believe Cassia and Fiona did this!"

I smiled again, and then made my smile even bigger and waved at the camera. Adrielle blew a kiss towards it at the same time. The already boisterous crowd got even louder, their Capitol accents blending together into one ridiculous mess. Adrielle nudged me and pointed back up at the screens. The cameras had focused on Blair, Amaya, Amber, and Chiffon, the District 1 and 2 tributes, who wore jealous scowls. Adrielle and I laughed at this. The cameras quickly flashed through the other tributes, but then focused back on us again.

Feeling slightly smug, I waved, blew kisses, and caught more roses for the rest of the parade. It only lasted a few minutes in all, but it felt like hours, especially to the muscles in your cheeks. The chariot slowed down finally, and my jaw dropped. In front of us was the biggest Justice Building I'd ever seen, and District 4 was not a poor district.

I poked Adrielle, pointed to the Justice Building, and whispered "Look!"

She looked, and her jaw dropped too. All of a sudden, she grimaced. Looking up to where Adrielle was looking, I saw President Snow. He was on a balcony that was as long as the building itself, smugly sitting on an intricately carved golden throne. His white hair glistened, and his poofy lips formed themselves into what he thought was a friendly smile. To me, it looked more like the face of a dying cow. _That's because he is one,_ I thought to myself bitterly.

Snow got up slowly from his throne. He was getting old, and slow. His walk seemed like it had been already taped, and then played in slow motion. I noticed that he was walking towards the podium at the front of the balcony. As he reached the podium, he lost his balance slightly, and teetered a little bit. _Die, die, die,_I thought to myself. _Fall of the balcony so we can all go home!_

Sadly, he just gripped the podium and steadied himself. Cursing silently under my breath, I watched him hold up a hand. The crowd's roars died down to excited whispers.

"Tributes, we welcome you," President Snow addressed us. Our chariots had formed a semi-circle in front of him. "We salute your courage and your sacrifice."

_More like you cheer for our deaths_, I thought bitterly.

"We wish you Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor," he finished.

As he said the last line, his eyes bore into my skull, lingering over my face. At the sight of my displeasure, his lips curled up into his real smile, which looked even more like a dying cow than his fake smile had. _No scissors this time, _I caught him mouth to me.

Goosebumps burst out all over my skin, and I shuddered. He smiled even wider and pointed towards my hand. In my hand, in the middle of all the roses I had caught was a single white rose. Dreading what it meant, I brought it closer to my face and inhaled the scent of the roses. Mingled in with the flowery perfume smell of roses, was a trace of something else. Blood.

I felt dizzy suddenly, like I was going to throw up. The crowd full of rainbow people swayed around me. _Why is the world spinning?_ I thought stupidly. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor of the chariot.

Adrielle's face loomed over mine, sliding in and out of focus.

"Vala!" she said, her voice sounded warped and tinny.

"Are you okay?" her voice asked; now sounding like it was far away.

"Of-of course I'm-I'm-of course I'm okay," I managed to gasp.

Adrielle didn't believe it for a second. I felt a sudden stinging on my cheek. She had slapped me.

"What was that for?" I asked, the world suddenly clearer.

"Partly to wake you up, partly to be parsimonious, whatever that means, and partly because I've been pissed at you lately and I just needed to do that," she hissed, helping me up.

"Thanks," I replied gratefully, ignoring the last part of what she said.

"Anytime," she replied.

I looked around. The crowd didn't seem to notice me falling down. Hopefully the cameras hadn't caught it either.

"I hate Snow," I muttered.

The chariot slowed to a stop for what felt like the billionth time that day. Adrielle and I stepped off, and greeted the noisy room full of prep teams, stylists, mentors, and escorts. Compliments flew around, even from one district to another.

"That was amazing!"

"You guys looked gorgeous!"

"You guys were so pretty!"

Andromeda, Accalia, Galla, Lion, Awuor, and Kharmen gushed over us.

"That was so fun!" Adrielle exclaimed. Everybody laughed.

I heard a deeper laugh, and a squeakier laugh added into to the mix. I looked over and saw Finnick and Hermia. Annie was also there, smiling.

"That was astonishing!" Hermia complimented us. "Good job girls!"

She clicked over to us and gave us each a lose hug.

"Hi Hermia," Adrielle greeted her.

"Hello honey, you looked beautiful out there!" Hermia replied.

I frowned at Hermia. Taking the hint, she added "Of course you did too Vala."

Smiling, I turned around and saw Annie and Finnick walking up to us. "Nice work out there," Finnick said, grinning.

"Thanks," Adrielle and I replied together, beaming.

"You guys look so pretty," Annie said.

"Thanks Annie," Adrielle said, giving her a hug. Then she ran off to see Cassia.

"Thanks," I said to Annie, giving her a hug too.

I turned to Finnick, and gave him a hug too. It was quite an accomplishment; I did it without blushing. I had kind of gotten over him. _Kind of._ I was just really pleased to see him, since he understood my feelings for Snow.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Did the cameras catch me falling?" I asked, worried.

"No, only one did, but it wasn't the one that goes on TV," he said.

"Thank god," I breathed.

"What happened, anyways?" he asked.

"Snow…" I said bitterly. "He saw me, and was staring at me almost the entire time. Then he mouthed, "No scissors this time," and smiled. You remember what happened with that. Then he pointed at my hand, and there was this," I finished in a rush, waving the white rose in his face. Seeing it again brought a wave of nausea over me again, making me almost fall over.

"Easy," Finnick said, steadying me. He plucked the rose out of my hand, and handed it to Annie who was also looking concerned. I saw her angrily throw it on the ground and stomp on it.

Smiling weakly at this, I looked back at Finnick. "What does this mean?" I asked.

"I don't know," he replied with a frown. "Luckily Hermia didn't notice it, or anybody else besides me and Annie for that matter. All I know is that he's trying to mess with you. All I can say is don't let him. He's just trying to make the Games worse for you. Try to ignore it."

"Like I'm not trying to ignore somebody else too," I muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, Adrielle has been going a little insane. Never mind that though, we just need to forget about this," I said.

Nodding, Finnickand Annie stepped away, as my prep team came up.

"Fiona!" I exclaimed, running over to her and giving her a huge hug. "Thank you so much! That was amazing! I was not expecting that! I can't believe you guys did that! It was so wonderful! Thank you," I repeated, more genuinely.

Fiona grinned widely. "You're welcome! You did great!"

I smiled at her, before running up and giving my embarrassed prep team members a gigantic hug each.

"Thank you so much you guys," I gushed.

"You're welcome!" They all squealed, pleased with my excitement.

Adrielle came over to me then. "Good job on Vala," she complimented my prep team.

"Thank you!" Awuor, Lion, and Kharmen said happily.

"Ohh! This would look pretty in your hair!" Awuor said suddenly, picking up the squashed white rose from the ground.

I flashed Adrielle a worried look. "No, that's okay. My hair's perfect the way it is," I said quickly to Awuor.

Sighing, but swayed by my compliment, Awuor put the rose back on the ground. Annie went over to stomp on the rose some more. For some inexplicable reason, this lifted my spirits more than anything else had that day. All of a sudden, a Capitol worker came up to us.

"Adrielle Waters and Vala Hearst?" she asked.

"Yes?" Adrielle and I replied at the same time.

"Your car is ready," she said, before walking away.

"Car?"Adrielle and I said together, again.

"The one that's taking you to your hotel," Cassia explained. I hadn't even noticed Cassia had come over.

"Awesome," I said grinning.

"Let's go!" Adrielle said eagerly.

Adrielle and I rushed towards the car, and Cassia, Fiona, Finnick, Annie, and Hermia joined us. Our prep team walked a little ways behind us, chattering up a storm.

We came to a long black car. I think it was called a limousine. I wasn't that good with cars, since in District 4, we mostly rode in boats.

"Will this be the last time I'll be seeing you guys?" Adrielle asked her prep team sadly. She was getting very attached to everyone, I noticed.

"Oh! No, no, no! We're going to help you get ready for the interviews too!" Accalia exclaimed.

"Yay!"Adrielle said.

She hugged her prep team members, and I hugged mine. Adrielle and I then exchanged good byes with Fiona and Cassia, before getting into the car. Adrielle went in first, and I slid in next to her. Then Hermia, Finnick, Annie, Cassia, and Fiona got into seats that were facing us, so we could chat about our plans.

I looked out the window though, not wanting to talk about the parade for some reason. All I could think about was Snow, and _her._Was that really her, or had I been thinking about her so much that my imagination had conjured her up? I decided it was my imagination, but even so, I still strained my neck out the window to find her, as if she would just appear out of nowhere.

I gave up on my search, and leaned back into my seat thinking about the ocean. I could feel the breeze, taste the salt of the ocean spray, hear the roar of the waves, touch the sand underneath my feet, smell the seaweed and fish (which I secretly didn't like the smell of), and see the water stretching out for endless miles. Shaking the image out of my head, I looked around the car. Annie was looking at me with a curious expression on her face. I could tell she knew I was thinking about the ocean. I gave her a small smile, and she smiled back at me. I went back to thinking about the ocean…

A loud gasp brought me back to my senses, making me jump in my seat.

"What's wrong?" Cassia asked.

"What? Oh, nothing…just…I just realized something," Adrielle replied, closing her eyes, and leaning back into her seat.

I realized I wasn't the only one keeping a secret at the moment. All I could tell was that Adrielle was thinking about the mysterious bracelet she had, because she kept rubbing it. Where _did_ that come from?

"We're here!" Hermia squealed suddenly.

I looked out my window and gasped. There was a tall, elegant building standing there. It was tall, and I couldn't see the top of it from my small window. I stepped out of the car, and gaped. The building was so tall, that it went all the way into the clouds, the top floors blurred.

We walked up a set of steps, and entered through a pair of large wooden doors. The inside was huge, at least 100 times the size of the train compartment. No, even bigger.

"Whoa," Adrielle and I whispered.

Hermia went up to a large marble desk, and got a large golden key for our _floor._The key was large and gold, as was everything else in this building. The walls were gold, the doors were gold, the elevator was gold, and heck, I bet the toilets were golden too.

We were led to a small elevator, the one thing in this building that was too small. We all barely managed to squeeze in. Adrielle slipped between Finnick and me, with a triumphant look on her face. I hadn't even noticed I was next to him. Honestly, I felt more like talking to Annie at the moment.

I watched Hermia press the elevator button that read 4, and the elevator began to move slowly.

"This elevator must be broken. It's so slow," Hermia complained. Cassia and Fiona chimed in too, and pretty soon they were chattering up a storm about elevators. I saw Finnick begin talking to Adrielle. I felt lonely, so I turned and talked to Annie.

I raked my mind for a brilliant conversation starter. I came up with a genius, "Hey,"

"Hey," Annie replied with a smile.

"Uhm…" I said, not sure of what to say.

Annie giggled, but then got more serious. "Were you thinking about the ocean earlier? In the car?"

"Yeah, how could you tell?"

"You got a wistful, free look on your face. It's the look that Finnick always has…"

I gave her a sad smile. "Do you miss it? The ocean I mean?"

"A lot. I loved to get driftwood, and build forts with it," Annie said.

I felt like I had been slapped. All of a sudden, I felt a few tears run down my face. "So did-I mean, I did too. So do I." I replied, quickly wiping the tears off my face.

"You okay?" Annie asked gently.

"Yeah, it's just…never mind," I said, feeling terrible.

Finnick's laugh echoed through the elevator suddenly. I looked over at Adrielle, wondering what was going on. She just smiled. Suddenly I remembered something. _Did you ask?_I mouthed. She gave me a bewildered look. _Plan, the plan,_ I mouthed feeling like I was dealing with a 2 year old. _Midnight,_ I 's mouth formed an "o", and she turned around to Finnick.

"Finnick, will you meet up with Vala and I to make a plan later on?" Adrielle whispered.

"Yeah, after dinner?"Finnick asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe midnight."

Finnick nodded, right as a little ding went off in the elevator. The golden door of the elevator slid open, slowly of course. My jaw dropped as I saw the floor spread out in front of us…


	32. Chapter 29 - Adrielle's POV

…...

_I think this maybe our longest chapter so far! _

_**READ NOW PLEASE!**_

_-Kat_  
…...

**Chapter 29 – ****Adrielle's POV**

I froze there staring at our floor. _Our floor was incredible…_

The first thing I saw was the living room. The living room had a long couch that was fit for 12 people. On either side of it, sat two mini couches that were clearly meant for 1 person, but looked like you could fit 3. The couches were _posh_; they were white with shiny gold studs. There was also a fuzzy fur rug surrounding the whole area where the couch was placed. In front of the couch sat a TV, bigger than I imagined it would be.

Beyond the living room was a wall made out of glass. The wall was like the one that was placed in the sitting room Cassia and I sat in. The glass window gave us a beautiful view of the Capitol.

Off to the left side of the room sat the dining room. It was elevated, so in order to sit down to dinner, you had to climb up a mini set of stairs. Between the dining room and the living room, there was a hallway.

"Come along!" Hermia said, stirring me out of my reverie.

Everyone filed out of the elevator except Vala and I, who were still stuck with our mouths gaping open. Finnick and Annie came back for us. Finnick tugged at me and pulled me as the elevator was closing. Annie did the same for Vala.

"You might want to close your mouth," Finnick whispered with a grin.

I blushed and closed my mouth. At the sight of my blush, Finnick's grin grew bigger. Vala and I walked around the room, taking in the sight.

The walls had pictures of the ocean. I looked closer, looking carefully in each one. I gasped, it was a picture of Vala and I. Vala and I were at the beach, smiling proudly at the first sand castle we ever made. The photographer captured our faces perfectly; it was like we were actually looking at the camera. _I didn't remember anyone taking a picture of us on that day._ But of course the picture was taken when I was six, so I wouldn't be able to remember anything.

I looked at the picture again, but it suddenly shifted. Replacing the photograph of us was a picture of _Snow._ I took a step back, Snow's voice in my head spoke to me, _"Don't worry, Vala wasn't the only one that was getting attention. I saved a little something for you too, my dear…" _ Then white fog sprayed from the photograph. It smelled like blood and roses.

A loud, strangled, surprised scream slipped out of my mouth. At the same time, my head began pounding and my heart rate felt like it was running a race. Snow winked at me, and then smiled his menacing smile. I then lost my balance, fell, and hit my head on the wooden floor.

"Adrielle!" Cassia yelped, kneeling over me. Cassia's cry alerted everyone. In seconds, everyone was hovering over me. "Are you okay?" Cassia asked me worriedly.

"Adrielle! Honey! Oh no!" Hermia exclaimed.

"What happened?" Annie asked.

Everyone looked blurred, like I was looking through a glass that hadn't been cleared in months.

I put my hand in the middle of my head; it felt like I already had a bump on the spot where I hit the floor. I felt something warm and liquidy. I brought my hand back to my face, it was red.

"She's bleeding!" Vala warned.

Everyone looked at me, and then Cassia gently turned me over to examine my head. They all gasped, Vala cupped her hand over her mouth, making a little choking sound. She didn't have a weak stomach, unless she saw a vast amount of blood. I sighed; _I guess I had a lot of blood spilling out of my head._

"It's not that bad…" Annie said trying to make me feel better. I tried to smile, but I felt only a pained grimace appeared on my face. Everyone started chatting and asking me questions. I wasn't able to answer any of them.

"I'm bleeding," I said quietly. I didn't think anyone heard me, because they kept throw questions at me. I felt light-headed. Vala said something. I made out on what it was, _what?_ She asked me.

"The picture…" I said quietly, pointing weakly to the picture of Snow. "Snow…he's right there…"

"Snow?" Vala asked, her voice turning panicky.

"Snow?" Hermia asked, not hearing Vala. Hermia asked like I'd said something ridiculous. "Snow is not there," Hermia continued. "It's just a picture of two little kids smiling at a sand castle."

"Yeah. Us," Vala muttered dizzily.

"He sprayed…" I continued, ignoring Hermia's comments. I paused to think, I couldn't remember what happened. I closed my eyes, trying to remember.

Suddenly, someone nudged me. "We're waiting," Hermia said. I saw Finnick's face shift into a scowl that was directed at Hermia. Hermia made a little tsk sound. "Well?" She asked impatiently at me.

I took a deep breath and tried to form a sentence. "Snow…right there…" I said pointing once again at the picture. "He sprayed…white fog on me…The fog had…I don't know…But it…smelled like blood…and roses," I finished. I felt someone left my head and place a fluffy towel on my bleeding head. Then they picked me up and laid me down on a soft surface.

"Someone call a doctor," Finnick said.

Fiona was the one to do it. She ran and called for an Avox, who called for a doctor.

In minutes, a man in a long white coat came into the room. He came walking towards me, "What's the problem?" He asked in a professional voice.

"I–"

"She fell and cut her head," Finnick explained for me.

The doctor studied me for a moment. Then he not-so-gently rolled my head to study the cut. At his touch, I cried in pain. He showed no emotion, not even saying sorry at the pain he'd cost me. "Yes," he mumbled. "It's a minor cut. Not very deep, so it won't take a lot of time to heal. It didn't damage her skull, which is a very good thing. I think that…no, no. The cut–"

"How will you fix it?" Vala interrupted.

The doctor glared at her, "Young lady, I am thinking about that now," he snapped.

"Don't be so rude Vala," Hermia scolded her.

Vala childishly stuck her tongue out at Hermia, and then glared at the doctor. The doctor ignored her and continued studying my head. He put his hands on my cut, poking and pressing. I screamed in pain, not bothering to hold it back. He ignored me and kept pressing.

"Does it hurt here?" he asked, pressing near the cut.

"It hurts everywhere!" I screamed at him.

"I don't want you touch my friend again," Vala said. "I want another doctor," she demanded. She said it like she had the cut.

"I want another one," I repeated Vala.

He ignored us and poked another spot, "Here?"

Vala screamed, "Stop poking her! If she has a cut, of course it's going to hurt!"

The doctor glared at her then said, "Can someone please take_ her_ out of the room?"

Finnick took Vala by the elbow and pulled her out of the room.

The doctor then poked the cut one last time. I sucked all of my breath in, and prepared to shriek.

"Ow!" I shrieked. I mustered up a glare; I put all of my pain in it. It was supposed to give him fear. I did great, his curious expression turned into a jarred one. I would've laughed, but I had too much pain. I only managed a little grimace, which I didn't show to him.

He smoothed out his face, masking it into the same doctor-knows-all expression. "I will have to stitch her cut," he reported to everyone.

"I want another doctor," I told everyone.

"There's no other doctor available," the doctor said. "And you need to fix this cut A-S-A-P," he continued smugly.

I looked hopefully at Cassia. She nodded her head at the doctor, and then she shot me an apologetic expression. I groaned.

"Thank you," the doctor said pompously. "I'll go get my supplies and be back in a couple of minutes," said the doctor as he got up and walked out of the door.

I groaned, right after the doctor left. "Why?" I whined.

"You need your head fixed right now," Cassia said. "And there's no other doctor."

"How do you know? He could've been lying," I said in the same whiny voice.

"I don't think–"

"He probably just wants to hurt me," I said.

"Why would he want to hurt you?" Hermia asked her voice thick with disapproval.

"I don't know, but you guys saw how he wouldn't stop poking my head."

"He was studying your cut," Cassia explained.

I sighed, "Fine. But if he has to give me a shot of anesthetic, I'm out." Everyone studied me. I gave them a, _what?_ expression. _I hated needles. I hated them ever since I was 12, when the peacekeepers pricked me at the reaping. _"I'd rather bleed myself to death," I added later on.

The doctor came back in with a bag in each of his hands. "Can I have a chair please?" He asked someone. _The bum was too lazy to get a chair, somehow that didn't surprise me. _Nobody moved, not even the Avoxes surrounding us. I giggled. He sighed and went to the dining room to grab a chair. He came back and sat in front of me.

"I'll have to inject you with anesthetic," the doctor said calmly. I had a feeling that somehow the doctor knew my hatred for needles. I made a little growling sound at the back of my throat.

I attempted to get up, but Cassia and Fiona held me down. Cassia gave me a not-so-pretty glance. The doctor pulled out a needle about 2 inches long, and prepared to inject me with it. He squeezed the syringe and anesthetic came out of the needle. As he slowly approached my head, I tried to fight Cassia and Fiona. The doctor got closer and closer until he was just centimeters away from my head.

He finally injected the needle at the back of my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs. The scream was so loud that I caused the Avoxes near us to run away with their hands covering their ears. Once the doctor pulled the needle out of my head, he put some medical tape to seal it. In seconds, I couldn't feel my head anymore.

The doctor poked my cut, "Do you feel this?"

"No," I replied. It was true, I couldn't feel it. It didn't hurt anymore more when he poked and touched it.

"Good," he said. "I'm going to start sewing your cut now. Tell me if you can feel the needle poking through your skin. If it does, we'll give you more anesthetic," he explained. _I don't think I'll tell you,_ I thought. _I do not want another shot._ The doctor took out his supplies and prepared the needle and the black thread.

I sighed and started poking my head. I could feel a little nudging and vibration, but that didn't hurt.

"Alright," said the doctor. He leaned in and repositioned my head. I was aware that he poked the needle through my skin and had started sewing. I couldn't feel anything at all. Except for a little tug and pull, but that was it. The doctor kept going on like that for minutes, maybe for even an hour.

Finnick and Vala came back in the room. I raised my eyebrows at Vala, wondering what took them so long to get back. She just smiled at me and asked, "Is she done?"

"Just about…" the doctor said. He picked up some medical tape and sealed it over the stitches. "Done," the doctor said proudly.

"Good. Now get out," Vala said harshly.

The doctor once again ignored her, "The stitches will also dissolve in an hour. You may take the bandages off at…" he looked at his watch. "At 9pm. Be careful as you take the bandages off. You will feel pain in an hour as the anesthetic slowly wears away. Try not to pull your hair out in the process. Make sure you don't move your head much," he said as he packed his supplies up.

"Thank you, doctor…?" Finnick asked, sticking his hand out.

"Doctor Carlisle," said the doctor. He shook Finnick's hand and nodded at me.

"Thanks," I said as he made his way to the door. He nodded at me again before he walked out the door.

Everyone stayed silent, their eyes wandering around. Soon everyone's eyes were settled on me. I smiled warily, "I hate injuries."

Hermia laughed. "Dear, there are more injuries you'll encounter in the Games. Ask Finnick and Annie about it," she said.

She seems unaware on how Finnick looked traumatized. And how Annie looked like she was about to cry.

I sat up, dizziness immediately taking hold of me. I swayed around back and forth, clutching my head. Everyone seemed to notice it, but I ignored it. I walked up to Annie and sat next to her on the seats beside the couch.

"It's okay Annie. Vala and I will be very careful in the Arena. We'll come back," I whispered so only she would hear.

"That's what they promise me every year, yet none of them come back." She sniffled.

"We'll come back, I promise," I told her.

"If you don't?" She asked me wearily.

"Don't worry about that!" I whispered fiercely. "We _will_ come back," I told her surely. _I think,_ I thought. _I'm coming back, but I'm not sure if Vala will. _

"You promise? She asked dejectedly. The pain in her eyes were unbearable. In her eyes, I see that she lost almost everything. Except…_love_. She loved one person. I knew who that was. It was…Finnick. He was the only one keeping her sane in this world.

Seeing this, I knew I couldn't refuse. I could almost see me in her. I would be like her if I won the Games. If something went wrong._ No…if everything went wrong._ I wouldn't let that happen to me, though. I knew that I would win the Games, and that Vala will too. If something goes wrong, I would beat Snow in this madness. I wouldn't let him hurt anyone else. I wouldn't let him kill off another 24 set of tributes for next year. There will be no _'next year,'_ for the Games.

Finnick and Katniss and Peeta already tried. But they failed. I try to overrule Snow like they had before. Except let it stay like that. No more Snow. _Forever._ That sounded so good.

"Yes," I assured her. _I seem to be making a lot of promises lately, _I thought. _I hope I can keep all of them, and not break any. _A quote came into my mind. _"In order to keep a promise, one must break a handful."_ That was the one that came to mind right now. It was the only one I remember out of all Vala told me. At the time she told me that, I knew it would apply to me one day. But I hope that wouldn't be now. Not during one of the important events in my life. _My survival._

Annie smiled at me. Then she looked at Finnick, the smile still on her face. I looked at Finnick also he was looking at us, he smiled back at Annie and I. I looked in his eyes; he too had that pain in his eyes. I didn't notice it until now. Except that Finnick had more pain. He also had trauma, and sympathy, and anger, but mostly pain. Pain that I knew that Snow bought to him._ I could read people just by staring in their eyes_, Finnick also had that sparkly gleam in his eyes that would appear whenever he looked at Annie. He felt the same way about Annie, as Annie felt to him.

A little ring of bells spread throughout floor, the whole building maybe.

"Dinner time!" Hermia sing-songed.

I slowly stood up; I felt a pang of pain in the back of my head. I gritted my teeth to keep from sounds escaping my mouth. But a little cry of pain escaped. The pain was getting worse; the anesthetic was wearing off. I stood up and tried to ignore the pain. I walked to the dining table. I wobbled and teetered a bit, but I didn't fall. _Surprisingly._ But by the time I sat down, I was ready to pass out again.

Nobody had bothered to help me. Vala was too busy running to the table, eager to get food. Annie was skipping absentmindedly up the stairs. Fiona and Cassia were busy talking about the dresses for the interviews. Finnick was…I turned around, but before I could, he was by my side, looking concerned.

"You okay?" Asked Finnick, he had his eyebrows creased. It made him look older, which didn't quite look right.

I was aware of the tiny bead of sweat running down my face and the way my face looked, right about to pass out. "Yeah. Fine," I lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," I said waving him away. "Fine if you mean that I'm about ready to pass out," I muttered.

He laughed, but then the crease in his eyebrows returned. "You shouldn't move."

"Yeah, Right. I'll obey the doctor, which seems like what I'll do," I laughed. "I'll sit here all day and be a statue. That sounds like a good idea."

He smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I think you should." I knew the smile was a bit forced, with a hint of pain in his eyes. _I hated that, everyone here had pain. Why can't Panem be filled with happiness? Oh yeah, cuz there's a little event called the Hunger Games. Duh, _I thought obviously.

"I know," I groaned. "After dinner I'll stay on the couch, or something."

"Maybe sleep…?" Finnick suggested.

I groaned at the idea, which made Finnick laugh. He pulled a chair out and sat next to Annie, across from me. I thought about Finnick's idea again. I was fond of sleeping, but I hated feeling helpless. Helplessness makes me feel weak, _which I'm not. _

The Avoxes walked in with humongous platters that contained food. I wasn't able to see, because each was covered with a fancy little dome-shaped lid. The Avoxes placed the platters on the table. The table…I hadn't noticed, was heavily decorated.

There were about five layers of plates. On top of the plates was a bowl. To the left of the plates there were two different sized forks. Then to the left of the forks was a napkin. To the right of the plates were a knife and two different sized spoons. Next to that was a cup and saucer. There were several more spoons, and forks. There were also wine glasses.

There were 7 sets like that, one each for a person. I didn't think that I would use most of that. But I had a feeling Hermia will.

The Avoxes took the lid off dramatically. As if they were serving President Snow. _Like royalty._ I think I deserved to be treated like royalty. I just cracked my head open, and I'm about to go into the Games. My death, probably…So, I think I deserve to be treated with a little royalty.

The food in the platters looked _incredulous._ But mostly _outlandish._ I wasn't even sure if _food_ were on the platters. The foods were decorated with various colors, and various items, though which I wasn't sure was edible.

I stared at the platters in amazement. Looking at each of them carefully. One platter had dozens of mini treats. Not treats exactly, but it looked sweet. The 'treat' was bread topped with white cream with pink and orange little balls topped on it. The little balls looked like balls of candy.

"Caviar! My favorite!" Hermia exclaimed. She took one of the treats and properly shoved them in her mouth.

"Ew, isn't that fish eggs?" Vala asked.

"Yes, mmm. They even put chive cream cheese on top of it," Hermia replied, her lips watering.

I stuck my tongue out in repulsion, making Vala laugh. I smiled at her and went back to selecting food. I didn't find anything appetizing after what Hermia told me. Any of these foods can be from strawberries to fried snails.

I picked something that I vaguely recognize as bread. It was like the bread Rye made back at home. _Rye…and home,_ I remembered. I quietly sighed, and ignored the little sadness I felt. I munched on my bread halfheartedly. I let my mind wander, _maybe this is one of the bread that Rye made and that got shipped off to the Capitol. _

The Avoxes finished serving us food. An Avox put pink colored soup in front of me. The Avox had caramel colored hair and piercing blue eyes. She was too pretty to be an Avox; I wonder what she did to become one.

I smiled at her, "Thank you."

Hermia clicked her tongue and said, "You do not–"

"Say thank you to an Avox, I know," I groaned. "But I think we should, so I'm not listening."

Hermia turned the shade of my soup and continued to eat caviar. I went back to my food too.

I sipped the soup, careful not to make any sounds. It would tip Hermia off her humanity. The soup was _delicious._ It was creamy, frothy, sweet but tart, and tasted very much like raspberries. I easily finished the soup. I looked up from my bowl and find that everyone is also absorbed in the food that they're eating.

Vala was eating something that looked like crab cakes and sandwiches. Cassia and Fiona were eating snails. _Escargot,_ you call them. That sent a tiny shiver in my body. _Why do they have to eat those bizarre foods?_ Annie was eating raspberry soup, like me. Except she had her head dipped in the bowl and was sipping loudly. I was surprised Hermia didn't notice. She was too busy with her own food, _caviar. Ew._ The food made me taste a little throw up in my throat. The taste wasn't all that great, so I had to ask for water.

"Excuse me? Can I have some water please?" I asked nicely to the Avoxes.

The Avox with the caramel-colored hair took off to fetch my water. I looked around the table again, I looked at Finnick. He was swishing wine around in his wine glass. He noticed me looking at him, and smiled. I smiled back, and probably blushed. His grin grew wider, his grin would always. I hated blushing, not because I didn't like it. It's because I never mean to, and I would give myself easily.

Once everyone was done with the 'appetizers,' as Hermia put it, the Avoxes took our plates away. And also the remaining food. The caramel-colored hair Avox returned to me with water.

"Thanks," I told her. She smiled and nodded back.

In the same second the caramel-colored hair Avox girl returned to me, the rest of the Avoxes returned with more platters.

"Dinner?" I muttered.

"Yes," Hermia chirped.

"How can Capitol citizens stay skinny with all these food?" Vala asked. I wondered the same thing.

"Oh honey, those were just the appetizers!" Hermia squealed. "Besides, Doctor Carlisle invented this amazing drink that makes you throw up your food, so you can eat more! Plus, it also takes away your extra body fat!" Hermia continued.

I made a face, not a pleasant one. I looked at Vala; she had the same face at me.

"Don't worry though," Finnick added. "That's usually only at banquets and things. Most people don't use it anyways," he continued. I looked at Finnick, and raised my eyebrows. _Hermia uses it ,_ I thought.

The Avoxes put the platters down on the table, like what they did before. They once again took the lid off.

"Dig in!" Annie exclaimed.

I looked at the food, "Oh my god," I mumbled.

"Look! It's the lamb stew that Katniss likes," Vala said nudging me.

"Oh! Can I have some?!" I demanded.

Finnick and Annie laughed, "Sure, but how did you know that it was Katniss's favor – ohh right," he said, correcting himself.

"What?" Hermia asked, confused.

"Can I have some lamb stew?" I reminded them, partly to disrupt Hermia so she would ask any more questions.

"Oh, sure." Hermia replied.

An Avox took out a ladle, a huge one, and poured some soup into my bowl. The scent was almost as sweet as the raspberry soup, but not really. Because this soup would taste differently, so it had its own type of sweetness.

I eagerly took a sip, it filled me with warmness. It was like drinking a hot beverage on a cold, windy, foggy day back at District 4. The soup tasted delicious. I could taste the spices put in it. Cinnamon, ginger, cumin, and a hint of mint. I could also taste the sweet and tart flavor of plums in the stew.

"This…is…amazing!" I breathed, with a mouthful of stew.

"It is, isn't it?" Hermia asked blithesome.

I heard her, but ignored her as I sipped my stew. I saw Vala roll her eyes and finish her second bowl of the stew. I finished my stew minutes later. I didn't get another bowl, I was afraid that my stomach would pop out of my body. I already had too much food. And I needed to not eat too much if I wanted to stay fit and lithe for the Games. After all, it's going to start in 3 days. _3 days…_I sighed.

For the rest of dinner time, I sat there, looking at everyone eating their food. Vala was eating more food. Lobster, bread, and something they called _pasta._ It looked good, but I didn't want to try it. Everybody was too focused on their food to talk, so it was silent for the rest of the time.

The Avoxes came in with more platters of food.

"Dessert!" Hermia exclaimed.

The Avoxes took the lid off of the platters and presented dessert.

There on the platters were master pieces. There was cake, and bread, and dessert that I've never seen. _Of course, I've never seen that much food in my life. I grew up eating ocean food and only limited types of bread while grew up._ The dessert looked so delicious.

"_IS THAT CHOCOLATE CAKE?!" _ Vala asked, literally falling out of her chair. She landed on the wooden floor, sprawled on the ground.

Everyone burst out laughing. But I didn't laugh because of Vala. I was used to her exorbitant moments. It was because some food fell out of Hermia's mouth, but she quickly put it back in. I saw that she was hoping no one noticed, her eyes said it all. Of course _I_ noticed.

"Yes, it's chocolate mousse cake," said Hermia.

"It's like chocolate cake, but better!" Fiona added mirthfully.

The chocolate mousse cake was set on the table, in front of Vala. Her eyes were clearly filled with anticipation. We also each got out own pot of melted chocolate, with different items to dip in it. There were also more cakes placed on the table._ It was like the foods were taunting me. I was so full! But I had to eat some…_A pink-colored on caught my eye. I got a slice and sunk my teeth onto it. _Strawberry, I knew it._

I looked up from my food and found Vala drooling over the food. "Shut your mouth!" I told her. "You're literally drooling all over the food!"

She laughed, "More for me!" She picked up her skewer and poked a raspberry cheesecake with it. She dipped the cake and stuffed it into her already-filled mouth.

I rolled my eyes and finished my cake. I relaxed for a little bit, rubbing my tummy and sighing. _I need to control on how I eat, especially because in the next few days, I might starve. _I've never starved in my life; I always had plenty to eat. Being the daughter of the mayor and all… I knew some people back in District 4 starved, though they never died of hunger. But I knew that most people in the lower Districts did.

I didn't know where my bedroom was, but I knew that an Avox would lad me there. I stood up, but sat back down as I caught a whiff of roses…_and blood. _That scent…_Dangerous!_ My mind cautioned me.

"What is it?" I asked at the same time as Vala. I looked at everyone, they were all looking behind me. I asked, even though I knew. I turned around, looking at…

"Hello girls," he greeted Vala and me. "I'm glad you're enjoying one of your _last_ meals," he continued. He emphasized the word 'last.'

I looked at him, anger and hatred seething inside me. I was so mad at my lips curled over my teeth and a little angry growl escaped my mouth.

The scent of blood was flying weightlessly in the room. He was wearing a black suit. A white rose was placed in his breast pocket. His lips were as puffy as ever. His hair as white as _Snow…_

….

_Can you hear that sinister and eerie music playing in the background?  
I can…_

_Snow is here to visit Adrielle and Vala…_

_Thanks for reading! I'm working on chapter 31 now!_

_-Kat  
_

…...


	33. Chapter 30 - Vala's POV

**Chapter 30 – ****Vala's POV**

There should have been a fanfare to introduce us to the floor, it was so grand. I stood there, staring out at the rooms, my mouth gaping open.

The first thing I saw was the living room. It was huge, of course. To add to the largeness of the whole room was a long couch that was big enough for at least 10 people. On either side of the couch were two mini couches that could fit about 3 people on to them. All of the couches were grand; they were white with shiny golden studs. A big fuzzy brown rug surrounded all of the couches. In front of the couch was a TV that was almost as big as the cream wall it hung from.

Beyond the living room was another wall, except it was made entirely out of glass. It showed off a breathtaking view of the Capitol, which at the moment was glittering with lights, as it was starting to get dark outside.

To the left of the living room was the dining room. It was elevated a few feet off of the rest of the floor, so you had to climb a set of mini stairs to reach the elegant oak table. Plush purple chairs surrounded it, for comfortable dining. Between the dining room and the living room was a hallway.

"Come along!" Hermia chirped, pleased by our reactions.

Everybody stepped out of the elevator except for Adrielle and I, who were still frozen to the and Annie came back to fetch us. Finnick tugged Adrielle's arm, and Annie took my hand and led me out into the room.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" she said with a smile.

"Yeah," I said, awestruck.

I looked over at Adrielle, who had the same reaction I did. She was blushing though, which probably meant she had been talking to Finnick. Fighting back a smile, I looked back around the room, drinking in the décor.

I was startled to see that the walls had pictures in them, pictures of the ocean. I looked closer at them, and noticed one of them. Surprised, I noticed a picture of Adrielle and I. We were at the beach, grinning over a sand castle we had made. It was our first one ever, if I remembered correctly. The weird thing was, I remembered this moment. I remembered every detail of it…except nobody had taken our pictures. Chills ran down my spine, and I looked at more of the pictures. There was another one of Adrielle and I, and we were playing with our starfish. Nobody had taken our picture then either. I turned around to point this out to Adrielle, when I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. It was the same one I had smelled earlier on the chariot. _Blood and roses._

I heard a scream, and I whipped my head around hard. Adrielle was on the floor, sweat streaming down her face, and her whole body twitching. I froze at the sight of her. Was she dying? No…this was the same thing that happened to me earlier, except Adrielle had gotten hurt somehow.

"Adrielle! Are you okay?" Cassia yelped, as everyone huddled over Adrielle's body.

"Adrielle! Honey! Oh no!"Hermia cried out.

"What happened?" Annie asked.

I felt dizzy at the sight of Adrielle. What was wrong with her? I knew the instant Adrielle touched the back of her head, and brought her hand back to her face. It was covered with a red, sticky liquid. Blood.

"She's bleeding!" I said in a strangled voice.

Cassia bent over and gently turned Adrielle's head to the side, to examine the wound. There, right on the back of her head was a long fat cut that was gushing out blood. She must have hit her head against the floor hard. I cupped my hand over my mouth, and choked a little. The blood had a terrible scent that reminded me of the one I had smelled minutes ago.

"It's not that bad…" Annie said, obviously trying to make Adrielle feel better. Adrielle just grimaced, and everyone began to bombard her with questions.

"I'm bleeding," Adrielle said quietly over the commotion. She didn't like blood.

"What happened?" I asked Adrielle softly.

Her eyes were unfocused, but then they focused on my face and showed a little understanding. I knew she had gotten my question.

"The picture…Snow…he's right there…he sprayed…" Adrielle gasped out. She closed her eyes to think some more, and everyone fell silent.

_Come on,_ I urged her in my head. One word had worried me in particular, and that was the word Snow.

"We're waiting," Hermia complained with a tsk sound. "Well?"

Adrielle gulped in some more air, and tried to begin another sentence. "Snow…right there…he sprayed…white fog on me...the fog had…I don't know…but it…smelled like blood…and roses."

I froze, and began to shake a little. I had smelled that too, about the same time Adrielle had. I hadn't seen any fog or a picture of Snow though. What was he doing to us?

"Someone call a doctor," Finnick said, as he lifted Adrielle up and set her on the long couch. Annie put a fluffy white towel underneath Adrielle's head, which soon was covered in blood.

Fiona ran out of the room and called for an Avox. The Avox then called for a doctor. Within minutes, the doctor showed up. It was a man, and he dramatically walked into the room with his white coat flying out behind him and said, "What's the problem?"

"I-" Adrielle began.

"She fell and cut her head," Finnick explained.

The doctor made a "hmm" noise, and then studied Adrielle. He roughly forced her head over to the side to study the cut. He jabbed at Adrielle's cut, not even saying sorry when she cried out in pain. I immediately hated him.

"Yes," he mumbled to himself. Then he addressed us. "It's a minor cut. Not very deep, so it won't take a lot of time to heal. It didn't damage her skull, which is a very good thing. I think that…no, no. The cut-"

"How will you fix it?" I cut in sharply. I didn't care what it was; I just wanted it fixed _now._

Glaring at me, the doctor snapped, "Young lady, I am thinking about that now."

"Don't be so rude," Hermia said to me.

Angry, I stuck my tongue out at Hermia. Then I shot the doctor one of my evilest glares. He ignored me, and continued to poke and prod at Adrielle's wound. She screamed even more, and the doctor ignored her and kept pressing. I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming at the doctor myself.

"Does it hurt here?" he asked, pressing the cut.

"It hurts everywhere!" Adrielle shrieked.

That was it; I was done with this doctor. "I don't want you to touch my friend again," I said in an icy voice. "I want another doctor."

The doctor ignored me, and jabbed his finger into Adrielle's skull.

"I want another one," I repeated fiercely.

The doctor just said, "Here?" as he poked Adrielle again.

"Stop poking her!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "If she has a cut, of course it's going to hurt!"

The doctor sneered at me and said, "Can someone please take _her_ out of the room?"

I went at the doctor, wanting to tear all of his flesh off of his pristine body. If he was in the Arena with me, he would definitely be killed by me within the first few seconds. Before I could lay a finger on him though, Finnick had me by the elbow and dragged me out of the room. The best I could do was shoot the doctor my most venomous look.

Finnick went down the hallway, and led me into a small room, which I realized was a bathroom. He shut and locked the door behind us. "Why did you take me here?" I asked.

"So you wouldn't murder the doctor," Finnick replied.

"No, I mean why the bathroom?" I asked.

"It's the only room on this whole floor that isn't monitored by the Capitol. They watch everything you do, but the last thing they want to see is you doing your business."

I smirked. "Even if it's on a golden toilet?" I asked sarcastically, pointing the solid gold toilet.

"Even then," Finnick said with a chuckle and one of his brilliant smiles. Then he got serious. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah, I think so…I smelled the blood and roses too. I think it's Snow's signature scent. But, I think he's following us. He keeps showing up everywhere, finding Adrielle and I…did you see the pictures on the wall? They were of us when we were little, on the beach. Nobody took our pictures. I think one of the pictures turned into Snow or something…and Adrielle said it sprayed fog. I didn't see all that. But how did he get our pictures?"

Finnick's face turned grave. "He has microscopic cameras, ones that can fit onto just an air molecule. He uses them to follow people he's suspicious of…I already know why he's suspicious of you…but why he'd advertise the fact that he's been following you, I don't know. Maybe just to scare you, or maybe to prove something. Is there anything about you that he's not supposed to know?"

My whole body went cold. "Yes…" I whispered hoarsely.

"What is it?" Finnick asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, but it could help us figure out what's going on…"

"I doubt it."

"I can always ask Adrielle what it is…"

"She doesn't know," I said shortly.

Finnick looked taken aback. "It's that serious?!" he said.

"Duh, why else would I not want to tell you?" I replied.

Finnick just sighed, and ran a hand through his messy bronze colored hair. He looked really cute when he did that, I noticed. Then I realized I was completely off topic and went back to the matter at hand.

Feeling kind of bad for Finnick, I added, "I think I might tell Adrielle soon though. It's not that far until the Games, and I want her to know, just in case…just in case I don't get the chance to ever tell her. When I tell her, I'll tell you."

Agreeing, Finnick said, "I don't know what it is, but you better say soon. It could help us a lot."

I ignored this and just said, "So you can meet Adrielle and I tonight, for planning?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Let's meet back in here, so the Capitol doesn't overhear."

"Of course. I'll tell Adrielleto meet us in the bathroom tonight because that's not going to sound weird," I said sarcastically, earning a laugh from Finnick. "I'll tell her when she's better," I added on a more serious note.

"Speaking of that, let's go back to Adrielle now, and check on how's she's doing," Finnick said.

"Yeah, you never know what that bitch you call a doctor could be doing to her," I muttered.

Finnick laughed again at that, and we sped out of the bathroom, like fast walking out of bathrooms was something we did every probably did it a lot. We walked hurriedly down the hallway, wondering what the doctor was doing to Adrielle now. We arrived just in time to see Adrielle's head being sewed up with silvery thread. Adrielle looked up at me from her uncomfortable position and raised her eyebrows, clearly asking what Finnick and I had talked about. I just smiled and asked, "Is she done?"

"Just about…" the doctor murmured. He picked up some medical tape and put it over the stiches. "Done," he said proudly.

"Good. Now get out," I growled.

Again, the doctor just ignored me. "The stiches dissolve in an hour. You may take the bandages off at…at 9pm," he said after consulting his watch. "Take the bandages off carefully. Try not to pull your hair out in the process."

He packed up his supplies, and got ready to go.

"Thank you, doctor…?" Finnick asked, sticking out his hand.

"Doctor Carlisle," the doctor replied, shaking Finnick's hand. He nodded at Adrielle and Hermia, and pointedly ignored me.

"Thanks," Adrielle said as he walked towards the door.

_Yeah, thanks for everything,_ I thought sarcastically.

Then everyone was silent. I looked at Adrielle, wondering how bad her cut really was, and if that doctor had fixed it.

"I hate injuries," Adrielle said with a wary smile.

Hermia laughed. "Dear, there are more injuries you'll encounter in the Games. Ask Finnick and Annie about it,"

I looked over and Finnick and Annie, and saw how terrible they looked. Finnick's eyes were filled with fear, and Annie looked like she was about to burst into tears. I was about to walk over and give her a hug, for she reminded me of someone, but then Adrielle sat up. She swayed with dizziness for a moment, and she clutched her head, as if she was steadying it.

Finnick was about to go over and help her up, but I gave him a look that said, _let her do it herself._If there was one thing Adrielle hated, it was probably people helping her when she was weak. She always felt like she could do everything on her own. Sadly, the Games taught you a different type of weak that you couldn't pretend wasn't there.

Adrielle stood up, her body shaking from her loss of blood. Slowly, she made her way over to Annie, and sat down next to her on the seats beside the couch.

I saw her start a whispered conversation with Annie. I couldn't hear most of it, but I caught something that Adrielle said. "We'll come back, I promise," was what I heard her say. I was startled, but then felt a huge rush of happiness. Adrielle actually believed that we, together, could come back alive. A smile broke out on my face. The smile quickly went away when I noticed Annie's face. _She didn't think we would survive._

It wasn't surprising really, considering how hard it had been for her to survive, if you could even call it that. She had come out of the Arena, insane from all of the deaths and other terrible things she had seen. It had taken her years to calm down, but she was still unstable. But what had calmed her down? That's when it hit me. The only thing that can ease the loss of loved ones is loving someone else. Finnick?

I knew I was right when I looked over at Finnick. He had the same desperation and loss in his eyes, but he did a good job of covering it up. What covered it up completely was when he saw Annie. His eyes lit up every time he saw her, and you could see in his face just how much he needed her to stay sane himself. They were keeping each other stable, helping each other survive this awful world.

Despite how sad it was, I couldn't help but thinking, _awwww. _Then I realized something else. The only way I could make it through the Games myself is if I was with Adrielle. She was my best friend, and we could keep each other sane, just like Finnick and Annie were.

The sudden sound of bells ringing startled me.

"Dinner time!"Hermia sang out, oblivious to my recent epiphany. Then again, everybody else was too.

I sped up the stairs, and was the first to be seated at the was taking her time, and Finnick had waited back with her. She wouldn't be too happy about that, since it would make her feel weak.

The aroma of food drifted into the room, and I inhaled heavily. Recent events hadn't enabled to realize just how _hungry_ I was. Hmm, , and Hunger Games. Just as we ate to survive, the same was true in the Arena; you would kill to survive. It seemed as if the whole world ran on hunger, starvation for power, devouring anything that got in your way. Could hunger really drive everything?

It was too late to think about that now, for Adrielle had just made her way into the seat next to mine, and huge platters filled with food had been brought out. The Avoxes set down large platters with lids, and dramatically unveiled the food. The first platter was filled with little plates. On the plates were pieces of pita bread, with slightly slimy looking little pink and orange balls on top of it.

"Caviar!My favorite!"Squealed Hermia.

"Ew, isn't that fish eggs?" I asked.

"Yes, mmm. They even put chive cream cheese on top of it," Hermia replied, smacking her lips.

Adrielle stuck her tongue out in disgust, and I laughed. It did sound really gross. To me it seemed like the fancier the food, the grosser it was. Unless, of course, it was dessert. I couldn't wait to see what that would be like.

I watched an Avox put a bowl of pink, frothy soup in front of Adrielle.

"Thank you," Adrielle said.

"You do not-" Hermia began.

"Say thank you to an Avox, I know. But I think we should, so I'm not listening," Adrielle retorted.

Hermia's cheeks turned as pink as the soup, and she went back to gobbling up her caviar. I followed Hermia's lead, and focused my attention on food for the millionth time.

The next tray had a bunch of mini crab cakes on it, with sauce to dip it in. I smiled when I saw that, it was something we ate frequently back home. The next food was on a large platter, and it was just sandwiches. There were millions of different types of sandwiches though, all stacked up into a large pyramid. A pot filled with the pink, frothy soup sat in the middle of the table. Trays after trays filled with foods I couldn't recognize were set onto the table, barely leaving room for our elaborate set up of plates and utensils.

We began to pig out on the food. I made sure to avoid the caviar, even though it was a product from District 4. Annie was eating raspberry soup, Cassia and Fiona were eating what looked suspiciously like escargot, and Finnick was just having a simple glass of wine. He was barely even drinking it, I noticed, he was just sloshing it around in his glass. After about 10 minutes, a pair of Avoxes came out with large dishes and pots. I grabbed one last crab cake, and stared at the main courses.

"Dinner?"Adrielle asked.

"Yes," replied Hermia, excitedly.

"How can Capitol citizens stay so skinny with all this food?" I asked, drooling over the set up.

"Oh honey, these are just the appetizers!" Hermia squealed. "Besides, Doctor Carlisle invented this amazing drink that makes you throw up your food, so you can eat more! Plus, it also takes away all of your extra body fat."

Another reason to hate Doctor Carlisle even more. I felt like throwing up myself as I thought of that. All over the districts, people were dying of starvation. Here in the Capitol however, people treated eating like it was a game, _just like the Hunger Games,_I thought, remembering the connection I had made earlier. I looked over at Adrielle , and saw she had the same repulsed look on her face that I probably had.

"Don't worry though," Finnick said quickly, "That's usually only at banquets and things. Most people don't use it anyways."

_Hermia does_, I thought, but I let it go. There were far more important things to think of, like eating.

"Dig in!" Annie said, as the Avoxes once again dramatically lifted the lids off of the platters.

"Oh my god," Adrielle breathed, staring at the food.

"Look, it's that lamb stew Katniss likes," I said, nudging Adrielle.

"Oh! Can I have some?!" Adrielle practically shouted.

Finnick and Annie laughed. "Sure, but how did you know it was Katniss's favor-ohh, right," Finnick said. We weren't supposed to let Hermia know about last night.

"What?" Said Hermia.

"Can I have some lamb stew?" was all Adrielle said.

"Oh, sure," Hermia replied, although still looking slightly confused. An Avox took out a gigantic ladle, and began pouring a thick, delicious smelling soup into Adrielle's bowl. The Avox then poured some into my bowl. It had an amazing smell; it was sweet, but also had the more slightly charred smell of meat. I tasted it, and it was delicious. First, the rich flavor of lamb overwhelmed my taste buds. The sweetness of dried plums finished it off in a tasteful way. It tasted way better than you could imagine fruity, meaty soup could taste.

"This…is…amazing," Adriellesaid dreamily with a mouth full of stew.

"It is, isn't it," Hermia said smugly.

I rolled my eyes and began to slurp up the soup as quickly as I could. I had two more bowls full of it, and then switched over to some of the other foods. Then I inhaled a plate lobster, some bread, and a dish called pasta. It was all amazing, especially the pasta, which was something I had never had before. It was almost like strange bread, and you would put into any type of sauce you wanted. I chose a sauce called "alfredo". It was cheesy, and had some spices in it. I noticed Adrielle wasn't eating much_. Eat while you have the food,_ I thought to myself. Plus, I would need energy to burn off in training. Adrielle obviously wasn't thinking ahead.

Everybody was silent for the rest of the time we ate our main courses. We were too engrossed in our dinners to pay much attention to anything else. The silence was broken when the Avoxes came in once again. They cleared our old platters and dishes, and brought out more.

"Dessert!"Hermia said.

The Avoxes lifted the lids off of the platters and presented the desserts. One item caught my eye instantly.

"IS THAT CHOCOLATE CAKE?!" I shouted, falling out of my chair. I landed on the wooden floor, feeling slightly dazed.

Annie, Finnick, Adrielle, Cassia, Fiona, and even Hermia burst out laughing.

"Yes, it's chocolate mousse cake," Hermia said, looking slightly embarrassed for some reason. Maybe she was embarrassed for laughing at me.

"Like chocolate cake but better," Fiona added with a smile as a ginormous chocolate mousse cake was set on the table in front of us.

That wasn't all though. A large, strawberry cheesecake was brought out. Then we each received our own little pot of melted chocolate, with different fruits and stuff to dip in it. An apple pie, a bowl of chocolate pudding, and a tray full of fancy cheeses were only some of the many more foods that were set on the table.

"Shut your mouth, you're literally drooling over the food!" Adrielle said to me.

I laughed and said, "More for me!"

I picked up my skewer, and stabbed a piece of raspberry cheesecake. Then I dipped it into my pot of chocolate. It was a mouthful of heaven. I was getting full, fuller than I ever had been, but I didn't care. It was a delicious full, and sadly, I might not ever be full again.

Little sounds of "mmm" and "yum" filled the room. I was dipping my tenth item, a strawberry, into chocolate pot when everybody froze.

"What is it?" Adrielle and I asked simultaneously. Then I noticed they were staring behind us.

Slowly, dreading what was behind me, I turned around. The chocolate covered strawberry, still on my skewer, dripped steadily onto the floor as I gaped at the doorway, open mouthed. When the reality of who it was finally hit me, the strawberry and skewer fell to the floor with a clatter.

"I'm glad to see you girls are enjoying one of your _last_ meals," said puffy lips, with a particular emphasis on 'last'.

Hatred bubbled up inside of me, and I felt like I was going to explode. I gagged on the sudden stench of blood and roses, an all too familiar scent to me by now.

The source of the scent, as it always had been, was dressed up in a black suit. A white rose was tucked into his lapel pocket, just like the one I had earlier. His snakelike black eyes stared into first Adrielle's, then mine, with intensity. His white hair glistened in the light, and his face shone with hunger for power. There was no doubt about it, Snow was here.

…_..._

_Duh, duh, duuuuuh!_

_The next chapter will be out soon! Tell us what you think about this one in a PM, or review! Don't worry, I'm working on chapter 32 right now. Thank you for reading!_

_-ArianaWeasly_

…...


	34. A Letter From Us

….

A Letter from Us:

_This story, Twins, will take a long time to continue.  
We don't have enough time to write. (With schooling and all the other activities we do)  
And we can't write the story without writing together._

_Just expect us to update once or twice a month._

_Thank you for staying with our story,  
Kat and ArianaWeasly_

….


	35. A New Story

**Note:**

Hey guys, so I wrote a new story.

It's not really a fanfiction.  
It's not related to any book that I know of.

It's a story about a girl, on a quest.  
(I think)  
I don't have a plot for the story yet, just going along what my mind tells me to write.  
There are some gods and goddesses that we made up.

The story isn't really related to Egyptian/Greek Mythology.  
But it's somewhere along the lines of those. I might mix some of the monsters and gods/goddesses from Egyptian/Greek Mythology though.

I put the story in the of Kane Chronicles category because there is no category that says 'other.'

Please check it out!  
Even if you are not interested in Egyptian/Greek Mythology.

I am sure you will like it.

- Kat


	36. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 – ****Adrielle's POV**

_Snow was here…_

My heart started racing once again. The scent of blood and roses was overwhelming for me. It took all of my strength for me to not faint. But I started hyperventilating, I couldn't get enough air. _Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow…_My mind chanted.

He walked up to us, I held my breath. I didn't want to inhale his scent.

"President Snow!" Hermia gasped. She walked up to him and bowed down.

_Hah, it would take a million years for me to bow down to him like that. _

"What – what are you doing here? Please join us for dinner!" Hermia stuttered.

"I am fine, Hermia." Hermia flinched at the sound of her name. "I am here just to talk to Adrielle and Vala. Just here to greet them," he said.

I shivered, _there was nothing right about that._

"May everyone please be kind and exit the room?" He asked. It wasn't a request, it was an order.

Vala and I bolted for the door. Snow's laughed echoed around the room. It was raspy, like someone was scratching his throat. "Not you girls," he purred.

Vala and I froze, while everyone hurriedly exited the room. Finnick went to Vala's side and whispered something to her. I couldn't hear it, but Vala nodded and shot Finnick a panicked look. At that sight, Snow chuckled. Finnick exited the room quickly, after that.

Once everyone was out of the room, Snow cleared his throat. It was a mix of rasping and snake-like hissing.

"Adrielle," he purred fondly. At the sound of my name, I flinched slightly. He said it with pure admiration. _That was definitely not good._ "Vala," he greeted coldly.

"I have come here to talk to you girls. But first, I must ask you, are you enjoying your stay here at the Capitol?" He asked, with a smile on his face.

"Like you even care," Vala snapped. "Why do you even bother asking?"

"Ah, excellent question," Snow said arrogantly. "I care because I need to make sure my Avoxes are doing their jobs…correctly. If they're not, well…bad news for them," he chuckled.

"Great, just kill some more people." I suggested, my voice think with sarcasm.

"My plan exactly," Snow purred delightedly. He licked his lips like the idea made his mouth water.

A shiver ran down my spine in anger. My whole body was shaking. Snow started cackling, like this sight was appealing. _Snow loved the idea of torturing people._

"Now, I have high hopes for you girls…I wish you luck in the Arena this year. It's going to be very tricky, very tricky indeed…" He said, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "My best advice is to stay alive," he advised.

Somehow I found this funny. _Hahahah, stay alive. That's his best advice?_ I laughed, I couldn't help it. Snow cast his eyes on me, curiosity filling it.

"What is so funny?" He asked me.

"Oh, uhm, nothing…" I laughed.

"Aha," Snow said with excitement. "I knew you were a special one. There's something so unusual about you…" He said hungrily.

_It was like he knew something about me that I didn't. It was like he wanted to use that power. Maybe to use it against Vala or maybe to help him kill people, or both… _

I grinned proudly, to taunt him. I had power that he wanted. _Though I had no idea what it was, but I ignored that. _This must be very valuable, seeing that it made him hungry.

"It's obvious by your choice of friends that you different," Snow continued.

"Hey," Vala warned. "Leave her alone." She said, all of it coming out into a snarl.

"But I was just getting started!" Snow said in fake bitterness. "You," he said pointing his pale white finger at Vala. "You're unusual alright, but for different reasons than your little friend here," he said, casting his eyes on me. "Stubborn, intelligent, athletic…all those traits could be put to good use, if you know how…."

I thought those words were for me, but then he looked at Vala.

I thought about what he said, a wave of jealousy fell over me._ I_ was stubborn, and intelligent, and athletic. But I wasn't _as_ intelligent as Vala. I was _smart_, but not intelligent. But I was more stubborn, Vala doesn't even know half of it. Even though she's known me for my whole life, she still doesn't know. _Nobody knew who I really was…_ I was also more athletic than Vala. She doesn't know that I could use almost all the weapons that the Capitol had made. I was training for the Games, because I had a feeling that someday I was going to be in it. And I was right…

I cleared all of the complaining out of my head. _Why was I complaining? I didn't want to be one of Snow's pawns in war. Like Vala. I hoped she wouldn't be, I'll try to prevent Snow from getting to her. But I'd rather have her as pawn than me…_

Snow took a step towards us. I tried to take a step back, but in an instant, the Peacekeepers held our hands behind our backs and prevented us from stepping away from Snow. Snow took several tiny steps towards Vala. He leaned his face forward, almost touching Vala's. Which were only inches away from his.

"How's Pearl?" He asked quietly.

A heavy breath escaped Vala, like she had caught a punch in her stomach. She stared at him, and in shock she fell to her knees. Vala stared at the wall, her eyes completely blank.

_I was confused, Pearl…Pearl…Pearl…_

"What? You mean Vala's starfish?" I asked in confusion.

Snow laughed joyfully, like Santa had gotten him a present. "How naïve," he rasped. "Didn't you realize that _best_ friends don't tell you everything?"

I thought about what he said, and then shock hit me like a bullet. _Vala was keeping something from me, after she promised that she wouldn't._ _I can't believe Vala… She never breaks any promises, or makes any promises that she can't fulfill. Unlike me, I was the whole opposite of her. Still, it was so unlikely that Vala was going to do this to me._ Rage and hurt filled me. _Well, I was keeping something form her too…_

I fixed my face, turning it into a composed mask. I moved to help Vala off of the floor, but Snow pushed me away. "Allow me," he said.

Vala sat up, and leaned away from Snow. She was pale and sweaty. She looked like she had ran a couple of miles. Snow swooped down on Vala, "Let me help you."

Vala shivered a bit, exhaustion showing in her eyes.

Snow grabbed her arms and lifted her up a foot off of the ground. He put her down and swiped her into a hug. "You didn't tell her?" He hissed, "My, my, are we in some trouble…"

He shoved Vala off of himself, towards me. All her weight fell on me, I caught her in surprise. I repositioned her and helped her supported her back.

Snow looked at me, "Take care of her…" He nudged his chin at Vala. "Good luck to both of you. May the odds be ever in our favour."

Snow left the room, entering the golden elevator. Once the elevator closed, I let out a big sigh, releasing the air I was holding in. _I couldn't believe that I survived that consciously. I thought I was going to pass our earlier. _

I turned Vala, to make her face me. She suddenly grabbed me and held me tightly. She started mumbling in my ear, I couldn't hear because I was too busy trying to pry her off of me. Finnick, Cassia, and everyone else found us like that. They hurriedly grabbed Vala and pulled her off.

Vala turned to Finnick and gave him a hug, tighter than she hugged me. _Poor Finnick_, I thought_._ Finnick stroked her hair and tried to make her feel better. She buried her face into his shirt and mumbled words into his chest and kept crying.

Annie was looking at them; she walked up to Vala and patted her arms. She then walked to a chair and sat down.

I turned my attention to myself. Vala had been hugging me so tightly; I hadn't realized how much air I needed. She had also been bruising my ribs. I feel like I'm about to fall apart. I let in big gulps of air, and tried to hold myself together. I made little gasping sounds as I tried to collect air.

"Water," I gasped to one of the Avoxes. About 5 of them all at once fled the room to fetch me a glass of water. They were back in a second, handing me water. I finished one quickly, then moved onto the rest of the other glasses. I emptied all of the water in the glasses they brought me. One was about to retrieve more, but then I waved my hand, signaling that I didn't need any more.

Finnick let go of Vala and poured some water down her throat. She choked on the water, and then swallowed it. She closed her eyes for about a second, then sat up and looked around the room. She came to look at me, I looked away. I looked away, I was still mad at her for not telling me about whoever Pearl was.

I looked around the room. Finnick and Annie were sharing one of the mini couches. Cassia was running after an Avox, asking for chocolate. Though for a reason I wasn't sure of_. Maybe she'll give me some later. But I don't want chocolate, I wanted ice cream. _I'm hungry all over again. It seems like all of my appetite and the food I inhaled disappeared when Snow appeared. Hermia was walking around the room, a little agitated about what happened.

"Oh, I just can't believe he was here! He was in this room!" She twirled—her arms wide open—gesturing at the whole room. She turned to Vala and I, "You girls are so lucky to have met him! It must've been _such_ an honor!"

I felt like strangling Hermia. _Yeah, 'such and honor,' _I thought. _I was so close to Snow, I could've hurt him._ I was so angry, I started shaking.

"Hermia, are you oblivious to what he has done to them?" Finnick asked angrily, gesturing to us.

"Of course I am!" Hermia said, throwing her hands up. "Oblivious means excited right?" She asked, with a big smile on her face.

Everyone laughed at her comment, including Vala. I didn't think she was able to laugh after what just happened. I on the other hand, just had a blank expression on my face. _I knew what oblivious meant_, it's just that I didn't think it was very funny.

Vala got up and sat down next to me. She hugged me, forgetting about my ribs. She was hugging me tightly again. But not in apology this time. This time I knew it was desperation. I could tell be the way she held me. The last time she held me like this was when Kenn went into the Games. Her hug grew tighter by the second. I squeaked, and I put my hands on my ribs to protect them. She realized what she had done, then she let go.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," I said. Her hug was so tight, I almost blacked out.

Cassia ran into the room with a large chocolate bar gripped tightly in her hands. "I brought chocolate!"

"What?!" I asked.

"Chocolate! You know," she said waving the chocolate treat in her hand. "The sweet candy that tastes all yummy and stuff?" She explained slowly.

"Duh!" I said. "We _know _what chocolate is!" I rolled my eyes at her. It felt wrong talking to Cassia this way, I thought I need to show more respect. _Since she's my designer and all_, but she was talking callow right now too.

"Yeah," Vala agreed. "What Adrielle meant to say was, _why did you bring it_," she explained for me.

"Oh! Of course!" Cassia flushed, "The doctors here in the Capitol have proved that chocolate is the best for when you're scared or nauseous."

I nodded, I got her. At home, whenever I'm upset—or whenever I felt like it—I ate chocolate. That thought reminded me of what I thought of earlier, about me wanting ice cream. The need is still there.

"How about both?" Vala muttered under her breath.

Cassia broke off large chunks of chocolate and handed them to Vala and me. I took the chocolate gratefully and placed it in my mouth. It gently melted on my tongue, like snow—I never had snow melt on my tongue, but I had heard that it tasted just like water. Fresh water, unlike the water in the ocean in District 4.

The chocolate was not for my taste. It was too bitter, like dark chocolate. I knew Vala loved it—by the looks on her face and because she _loved_ dark chocolate. I swallowed it quickly because I didn't like the bitter taste forming on my tongue. I felt an uncomfortable burning in my throat—it was like when you swallow a warm cookie and when the chocolate in it melts in your throat—the feeling grew numb as it lasted.

The fast rhythm in my heart—that I hadn't noticed was there—slowed down to normal. I suddenly felt relaxed and a little woozy. I looked at Vala, she was done eating too. I noticed that she was swooning from left to right. I yawned, the languid feeling grew.

"Why I am so sleepy?" I asked between yawns.

"Was…sleep…sleeping drugs?" Vala muttered.

"Yes, my apologies. It is the best way for our tributes to fall asleep on their first night…it really does help with being scared and nausea though," Fiona said apologetically.

I silently groaned, _I didn't' want to go to sleep_. My mind was teeming with energy, but my body felt otherwise. I felt like I just had carried a vast amount of weight.

"Fine with me," I muttered before closing my eyes. I heard my heart thrum a steady beat. It made me feel slumberous.

_I wanted some ice cream. I never got my ice cream. Perhaps later I'll ask some from the Avox._ I thought, before drowning in sleep.

….

_Chapter 31 is done! Yay, right?  
Chapter 32 also up!_

_We're working on chapter 33 right now!_

_And I'm also working on my other story, Alice!_

_~Kat_

….


	37. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 – Vala's POV**

Snow was here, in this building, on our floor, in our _room._He was the murderer, the reason why so many people were dead, yet he had the nerve to stand here like he owned the place_. I'll kill him,_ I thought madly,_ I'll kill him!_He seemed to realize what I was thinking, because he then clicked his fingers, and a pair of Peacekeepers came through the doorway. I couldn't lay a finger on him now. _Ha, he thought he needed protection_, I thought happily, but still slightly mad I couldn't make him be as tortured as we were. At least he knew we were a threat. But was that a bad thing?

Snow just walked up to us slowly, enjoying our fear. It was almost as if he could taste it, since his tongue kept flittering in and out of his mouth, just like a snake's.

"President Snow!" Hermia gasped. She walked up to him and curtsied deeply, so deep she was almost sitting down. _I would never do that for Snow_, I thought.

"What – what are you doing here? Please join us for dinner!" Hermia stuttered.

"I am fine, Hermia," President Snow said in a deep, scratchy voice. "I am here to talk to Adrielle and Vala. Just here to greet them."

It sounded completely harmless, but everyone in the room, including Snow himself, knew it wasn't.

"May everyone please be kind and exit the room?" He asked, although it was obviously an order.

Adrielle and I were the first to unfreeze, and we sprinted towards the door, only too happy to oblige. Snow began to laugh, an evil laugh. It was raspy and deep, and at the end it wheezed, like the dying cow I had been placing him with earlier. He was a mix of a cow and a snake, two animals I couldn't stand.

"Not you girls," Snow purred. _Make that a cat too,_ I thought.

Adrielle and I froze on the spot, while everybody else hurried out of the room. Finnick was the only one to take his time. He stopped by me, and breathed into my ear, _"Try to find out what Snow knows about you,"_

I nodded, feeling very panicked_. How could I find out if Snow knew it without bringing it up in the first place? Well, if Snow did know, he'd most likely brag about it and make it known…not necessarily a comforting thought though, _I thought.

Snow chuckled, probably at the sight of my displeasure, as Finnick exited the room. The door was shut, and Snow cleared his throat with a raspy, hissing noise.

"Adrielle," he purred. Adrielle flinched at that.

"Vala," he said in a steelier purr, with a lot more hatred in it. I shivered, just as Adrielle had.

"I have come here to talk to you girls. But first, I must ask you, are you enjoying your stay here at the Capitol?" he said cheerfully.

"Like you even care," I spat out. "Why do you even bother asking?"

"Aha, excellent question," Snow said happily, as if he was hoping I'd ask that. "I always like to make sure that my Avoxes are performing well…if they're not, bad news for them."

"Great, just kill some more people," Adrielle said sarcastically.

"My plan exactly," Snow said, licking his lips.

Adrielle and I shuddered in unison, causing Snow to cackle.

"Now, I have high hopes for you girls…I wish you luck in the Arena this year. It's going to be tricky, very tricky indeed. My best advice is to stay alive."

_Wow, that's sure going to help us,_ I thought. Adrielle, on the other hand, began to crack up.

"What's so funny?" Snow asked dangerously.

"Oh, uhm, nothing," Adrielle said, gulping in air nervously.

"Aha, I knew you were a special one. There's something so unusual about you…it's obvious by your choice in friends that you're different," Snow said, his beady eyes boring into my head.

"Hey, leave her alone," I snarled, although I was actually selfishly defending myself more than Adrielle.

"But I was just getting started!" Snow said with mock disappointment. "You, you're unusual alright, but for different reasons than your little friend. Stubborn, intelligent, athletic…all those traits could be put to good use, if you know how…"

Snow took a step closer to me. Adrielle and I tried to step back, but the Peacekeepers were behind us in an instant, 'keeping the peace'. Snow took another step, and then another, until he was inches away from my face. I gagged on the scent of blood, not to mention the roses, but tried to stand strong.

"How's Pearl?" Snow asked quietly.

I fell down onto my knees, shocked that Snow had known. How had he found out? I thought it was a secret. We had kept it a secret! How was this even possible? I felt scared and confused, betrayed and hurt, and most of all like I was going to barf. Adrielle just looked plain confused.

"What?! You mean Vala's starfish?" she asked.

Snow laughed his raspy laugh. "How naïve," he purred. "Didn't you realize that friends don't tell you everything?"

I saw the shock and hurt hit Adrielle's face. She looked almost mad too, but all she did was cover it up, and try to help me up off of the floor. Snow pushed her aside, saying, "Allow me,"

I sat on the floor, cold as stone, feeling as pale as I probably looked. I shivered, and broke out into a cold sweat. Snow swooped down above me. "Let me help you up," he said, with an evil glint in his eye.

He bent down, and grabbed my arms. He pulled me up, very swiftly for an old man. When I was standing, he pulled me into a hug. The smell of roses overwhelmed me, but that was soon replaced by the blood. I realized he was whispering into my ear. "You didn't tell her? My, my, are we in for some trouble…"

He shoved me hard, and I would've collapsed onto the floor, but Adrielle was there. She caught me under the arms, and then put my arm around her shoulders, supporting me.

I heard Snow saying something. "Take care of her…" Snow was saying to Adrielle. "Good luck to both of you. May the odds be ever in your favor."

With that, he left the room, the Peacekeepers following him swiftly. The instant the golden elevator doors closed, the door Finnick, Annie, Hermia, Cassia, and Fiona had left out of swung open. I didn't take any notice though; I just wrapped Adrielle up into the tightest hug in the history of hugs. I didn't care about anything else at the moment, I just cared that we were safe.

Adrielle let loose a big sigh, and I felt crazy. I started to mumble things to her, trying to apologize for not telling her the secret, which she still didn't know. I tried to tell her how scared and sorry I was. Most of all, I just babbled about Snow.

Adrielle didn't seem to understand my insane rambling, she was too shocked herself. I felt someone pry me off of Adrielle, and I turned around and saw Finnick.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

All I said was, "He knows," and I hugged Finnick even tighter than I had hugged Adrielle. He looked scared, but he stroked my hair and whispered, "It's okay, it's going to be alright. We'll figure something out. Are you ready to tell me yet?"

I buried my face into his shirt and shook my head 'no', feeling sick, scared, and confused.

"You know," Finnick said slowly, "Sometimes the truth is easier when it's shared with others."

"Or it just gets worse," I said before bursting out into tears.

The next thing I knew, I was put onto a couch, and some water was poured down my throat. I choked on it a little, before swallowing it. The water seemed to help me focus, and control my emotions. My head slowly cleared, and I sat up and looked around the room. Adrielle was sitting on the couch, near my feet, a glass of water in her hand. Finnick and Annie were sharing one of the mini couches, casting us worried glances. Cassia was running after an Avox, asking for some chocolate for whatever reason. Fiona was seated in a wooden chair she had dragged out of the dining room, and Hermia was pacing around the room, exclaiming about how exciting it was that Snow had been here.

"Oh, I just can't believe he was here! He was in this room!" She squealed. She turned to Adrielle and I, saying, "You girls are so lucky to have met him, it must've been _such_ an honor!"

She twirled around the room a bit, giggling like a girl who had just been asked out for the first time. Or, to make it even more realistic, like a girl who had been asked out by a celebrity.

"Hermia, are you completely oblivious to what he has done to them?" Finnick asked angrily.

"Of course I am!" Hermia said. "Oblivious means excited, right?"

Everybody burst out laughing, leaving Hermia with a bewildered look on her face. She probably didn't know what the word bewildered meant either. Poor, uneducated Hermia.

I sat up slowly, allowing the dizziness to leave me before I scooted across the couch until I was sitting right next to Adrielle. I gave her a small smile, and then pulled her into a hug. She squeaked a little, and pulled her hands to her ribs.

"Sorry," I said quickly as I pulled away. I must've bruised her ribs earlier during my really tight hug. I did that sometimes…whenever I hug somebody, a feeling goes through me, like a little shock of realization. The feeling tells me, _hug them while you can, as tight as you can, because when you let go, anything could happen. _Sadly, that feeling comes from experience. But I don't want to think about that right now, I've already thought about it enough.

"It's ok," Adrielle said softly, although her eyes were a little watery.

All of a sudden, Cassia burst into the room.

"I brought chocolate!" she squealed.

"What?!"Adrielle said.

"Chocolate! You know, the sweet candy that tastes all yummy and chocolaty and stuff?" Cassia said slowly.

"Duh, we know what chocolate is!" Adrielle said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, what Adrielle meant was, _why did you bring it_," I said, exaggerating my words.

"Oh! Of course," Cassia said, slightly flustered. "The doctors here in the Capitol have proved that chocolate is the best medicine for when you are scared or nauseous," said Cassia.

"How about both?" I mumbled.

Cassia broke off large chunks of chocolate with her perfectly manicured nails and handed them to me and Adrielle. I bit into it, and let it melt on my tongue. It was dark chocolate, so it was slightly bitter, but I still loved it. As I swallowed it, it left a trail of warmth running down my throat and burning, but not uncomfortably in my stomach. As I ate it, it seemed to sooth my body and calm down my overly active brain. I kept eating and eating until all that was left was small smears of melted chocolate on my finger tips and palms. Adrielle and I finished at about the same time.

A drowsy feeling fell over me, and my eyelids drooped. Adrielle let out a big yawn. I yawned too, my mouth opening up so wide that my throat made those weird little embarrassing noises.

"Why I am so sleepy?" Adrielle said between large yawns.

"Was…sleep…sleeping drugs?" I managed to say in a low tired voice.

"Yes, sorry guys. It's the best way for our tributes to fall asleep on their first night…it really does help with being scared and nausea though," Fiona said apologetically.

"Fine with me," Adrielle said.

I nodded my head in agreement, and then slumped against the back of the couch, as the swirling world of blackness and nightmares hit me.

_Hey guys! Sorry we end most of our chapters with Adrielle/Vala falling asleep…we'll try to change that. Oh yeah, and sorry for taking so long to update! KatnissTheGirlOnFire19 and I have been really busy. That's one of the reasons that this chapter is so short. Thanks for reading! Please PM or review!_

_-ArianaWeasly_


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